Breakfast · 75 min · moroccan

Msemen (Square Flatbreads)

Flour does the heavy lifting here, with semolina rounding it out. A Moroccan breakfast that takes 75 minutes, start to finish.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 3 cups Flour
• 1 cup Semolina
• 1.5 cups Water
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 0.5 cup Vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp Butter

Steps

1. Mix the flour, semolina, salt, and water into a soft, smooth dough. Knead 10 minutes until silky — the dough should stretch without tearing.
2. Divide into 8 balls, coat generously with oil, and rest 30 minutes. The oil rest makes the dough extensible enough to stretch paper-thin.
3. On an oiled surface, stretch each ball into a large, thin square — pull gently from the edges until you can almost see through it.
4. Fold like a letter: bottom third up, top third down, then sides in, dotting melted butter and sprinkling semolina between each fold. The layers are what make msemen flaky.
5. Cook on a hot dry griddle 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden and blistered, pressing gently so the layers separate.
6. Serve hot with honey, jam, or cheese. Fresh msemen shatters into a hundred buttery layers — there is nothing else quite like it.

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