Chobz - Moroccan White Bread

No doubt you have all noticed that I have been baking a lot of bread from the Mediterranean lately. Specifically bread from the Eastern Mediterranean. Specifically Greece. So I figured it's time to move on to a different location. But try as I might, I still find myself in this region, only I have moved to the other side completely. For quite a while now I have been following a food blogger from Morocco named Alia and  her blog Cooking with Alia. She also has a presence on YouTube. Not only are her recipes generally very tasty and attractive but her presentation is straightforward and a real delight.

Chobz is a simple bread, probably used for mopping up the wonderful sauces from Moroccan tagines and other delicacies. From start to finish it takes about 2 hours and includes only very basic ingredients - AP flour, yeast, only a little oil, salt and sugar. No eggs. The final product is thick and rich like a white sandwich bread, but with a pocket like a pita! After baking I had to immediately cut one open and stuff it with chicken. Yum!

Here's What You'll Need:
3 cups AP flour
1/2 Tbs dry yeast
1/2 Tbs sugar
a little warm water (to activate the yeast)
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbs sugar
enough water to make a soft barely sticky dough

Here's What You'll Need to Do:
1. Mix the yeast and 1/2 Tbs sugar in a small bowl, then add a small amount of water and stir. Set aside for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast.

2. In a large bowl, place the flour, the salt and the rest of the sugar. Add the yeast mixture and the oil. Finally, add the water, a little at a time, mixing all the while until a shaggy dough forms.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.

3. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a round ball. Cover and let them rest for another 10 minutes.

4. Roll out each ball of dough into a round disc, about 12cm (5in) in diameter. Cover and let these discs rise, slowly, for around 1 1/2 hours, or even 2 hours. They will be puffy but not doubled.

5. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). A hot oven. Place the chobz in the heated oven and bake for around 12-14 minutes. About halfway through turn the breads over. They will puff up, like a pita (but not as much as a pita) and get very brown. Cool on a rack and then stuff with your favorite fillings. Yummo!!

Msemmen - North African (Algerian) Flat Bread

You may have noticed that I jump around a lot from place to place. Like last week I wrote about a to-die-for cinnamon loaf, and the week before that it was cornbread. Now I am in North Africa, specifically Algeria with a bread the locals call msemmen that is sort of like a laffa, but soooo different. This one is rolled flat, then fried (like naan) with the oil and spice mixture INSIDE! This is 'peasant' bread and is popular with lamb dishes and all of those luscious dips from the Mediterranean like humus, and tehina and the roasted eggplant dips.It's a keeper believe me.

Here's What You'll Need:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/8 Tbs. yeast  (1 full teaspoon)
1/4 Tbs.(a little less than 1 tsp.) kosher salt
1 Tbs. gluten
7/8 cup warm water
2 Tbs. olive oil

for the spice mixture:
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp.paprika
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt for sprinkling on top
2 Tbs. olive oil for the skillet


Here's What You'll Need To Do:
1. Mix together the flour, yeast, gluten and salt.

Then, mix in the olive oil and enough of the water to make a soft dough. Knead vigorously for about 7 or 8 minutes to make the dough very smooth and only a little sticky.

2. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface, and form it into a ball. Then roll it out into a circle about 20cm (8 inches) in diameter and only a few millimeters thick (1/8 in).

3. Mix the oil and spice mixture then spread the oil and spice mixture over the surface of the dough almost to the edge.  Then roll it up into a log. Form the log into a spiral, and cover with a towel to rest, about 20 minutes.

4. Working with one spiral at a time, roll the spiral out into another disk, again only a few millimeters this (1/8 in).

5. Spread a little olive oil in a skillet, place this dough disk in the skillet when it is quite hot and cover, on low heat for about 3 or 4 minutes. Then flip the bread to cook the other side.

6. Store the 'cooked' breadson a plate covered with a towel.

7. These breads, called msemmen are delicious served still warm, and dipped in something hot and spicy.