Have you ever had something disappear into the abyss of the internet? That’s what happened to this Moroccan bread recipe.
You’d think I’d be less likely to find a recipe on paper…especially since I’m known to scrawl information on magazine inserts or any scrap I can find…but there it was: the bare bones directions for Moroccan bread, unlabeled and in between notes from an interview I conducted and a page of rhymes (knead, read, seed, feed, proceed, decreed, agreed, ID’d, IV’d…vibe, bribe, subscribe, diatribe…).
So that’s a little insight into who I am.
This bread, to get back to the point, is meant to be served with tagines or other saucy dishes so you can use it for mopping up all that flavor. I wish I had some tonight. My mom has some Moroccan chicken simmering away right now.
Alas, bread takes a little more forethought. You can think about making it with Saffron Chicken Tagine with Prunes, Tunisian Lamb Stew or Spice-Rubbed Roast Chicken.
Moroccan Bread
I’ve lost the link where I found this. The following recipe is in my words.
- 3 teaspoons yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 3 1/2 cups flour (but have 1 1/2 cups around if the dough needs more and so you can flour the surface you’re kneading on)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk (plus about 1/4 cup for brushing on later)
- 1/4 cup water
- about 1/4 cup cornmeal for the baking sheet (optional)
- about 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds (you could also do cumin
Mix yeast, sugar and warm water together in a small bowl. Let sit while yeast gets to work.
In a larger bowl, mix flour, salt, milk and water. When yeast mixture is bubbling and fragrant, add it to the flour mixture. Mix then cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm spot of the kitchen, about an hour or until dough has doubled in size.
On a floured surface, knead dough 7-10 minutes. Add more flour if it seems too sticky. Divide into three balls and flatten them a bit.
Put the disks on a baking sheet (you’ll probably need two) that has been dusted with cornmeal or flour. Brush loaves with milk, then sprinkle with sesame seeds and a little bit of kosher salt. Rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
Bake at 425 about 20 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when you tap them. (If you have two baking sheets, you probably want to rotate them halfway through.)
Serve warm and use to mop up sauces from tagines and other dishes. It’s really only good for a day. But as long as you have some sauce or soup, you can reheat it and it should be ok the next day for lunch.
