I am not sure I’ve told you this before, but, here it goes.. Patrick my husband is French (Not big news, I gathered) but He was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, and that is where my love for this country comes from; such a rich country in so many aspects: landscape, countryside, hand crafts, people, fruits, veggies and last but not least food.
Well Morocco is indeed a rich country, I have never tasted fruits and veggies with that much flavor and aroma. I love the way they combine spices, making dishes super fragrant but not hot or spicy. The most common ingredients in the Moroccan pantry are, honey, dry fruits like figs or dates, eau de fleur d’oranger (orange blossom water), rose water, almonds, pistachios, cumin, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, ground ginger, black and/or white pepper, hot red peppers, sweet paprika, aniseed, Ras El Hanout (it’s a mix of ground spices that include cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, various peppers, and turmeric) and sesame seed.
Today’s recipe are a part of the typical Moroccan breakfast, and is often served with homemade jams or fruit preserves, honey, orange juice, coffee or mint tea, this can also be serve as an mid afternoon snack. This are both considered crepes but the execution is a bit different from one to the other. Baghrir are also called “Les crepes au mille trous” (the thousand holes pancakes), the best part is eating the honey that has been trapped in the little holes.
Ingredients
- For the Baghrir or beghrir
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Sauce:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon orange-flower water or to taste
Instructions
- For the Baghrir or beghrir
- Place the water, yeast, and sugar in a blender, and let stand without blending for 5 minutes, until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam. Add the milk, flour, semolina flour, eggs, baking powder, and salt. Blend until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Leave the mixture in the blender to rest for about 30 minutes.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Blend the pancake mixture for about 10 seconds, to remix, and scoop 1/4 cup of batter into the heated skillet. Cook the baghrir until bubbles have formed and popped, and the top of the pancake is no longer wet or shiny, about 3 minutes. Do not flip. Adjust the heat as necessary so that the bottoms of the crepes are just starting to brown when the tops are dry. Blend the batter for 10 seconds or so after cooking 3 or 4 pancakes, to keep the batter fluffy.
- To make the sauce, heat the butter, honey, and orange blossom water over low heat until the butter is melted and the honey is hot, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir the sauce, and drizzle about 1 tablespoon over each warm pancake to serve.
Ingredients
- For the Msemmen
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 cup of semolina
- 3/4 cup of oil
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of dry yeast
- 1-2 cups of warm water
Instructions
- For the Msemmen
- Mix all the dry ingredients together (flour, semolina, salt, sugar, and yeast)
- Slowly add water and work the dough until you are able to create a ball with the dough
- If you are kneading the dough by hand, use energetic and quick strokes. Knead for 20 minutes while adding water until you get an elastic dough.
- You can use a kneading machine to speed up the process. Put the dough ball in the machine and automatically knead for the next 10 minutes while adding water.
- Make small balls with the dough (the size of golf balls) and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Note: the amount of water needed depends on the quality of absorption of the flour you are using. the goal is to get at the end an elastic and malleable dough. if your dough is too sticky add some flour; if it is too hard, add some water and continue kneading it.
- Steps for folding the Msemmen:
- Mix the melted butter with the oil.
- Spread some of the oil/butter mixture on a flat surface. Take one dough ball and flatten it with your hands. Gently keep stretching the dough until you get a thin circle of dough. Fold the circle into a square as shown in the video.
- Steps for cooking the Msemmen:
- Gently spread the dough square with your fingertips until you get a thin dough square.
- On low heat, cook the Msemmen 5-10 minutes in each side.
So there you have it, time to sit back and enjoy this wonderful meal that is going to lead to the most fantastic weekend!
4 thoughts on “Amazing Moroccan breakfast”
I didn’t know your husband was born and raised in Morocco! How neat is that?! I LOVE Moroccan food and these crepes look delicious!! I could definitely eat these for breakfast daily!! Cheers, girlie!
Hey Chey!! congrats on getting those awesome new wheels!! and yes!! I am sure you would love these crepes!! XOXOXO
Great breakfast idea!!
This is first I have read your blog. I love your outlook breakfast tips. I can’t handle my greed to apply your recipe. I will apply this basis of regular.Very helpful presentation to me.Thank for the excellent sharing.
Thank you Rita!! When you make this recipe please share with me!! I would love to know.