My mother-in-law makes a lot of bread. Sometimes I feel like all she does is make bread. But for her it’s so easy because she’s been doing it for so long. She’s always making different types of moroccan bread and sometimes comes up with bread ideas on her own. My favorite recipe is the Moroccan Semolina Homemade Bread Recipe – it’s so good with butter or oil and I like to use it to make pizzas. It makes the best pizza crust! Hopefully my homemade bread comes a little bit close to hers one day.
Moroccan Semolina Homemade Bread Recipe
You would not believe how easy this bread is to make. I often have a hard time kneading bread dough, but since our KitchenAid mixer broke and I can’t find the mixing tool for the bread machine, I had to make this recipe by hand. And let me tell you, it was super easy! It kneaded quick and rose quickly. Yes it needs time to rise, but that’s the time you use to make your meal.
Here’s the dough (below) after kneading it for 10 minutes. I put on my headphones and queued up my latest show on Hulu and got to work.
After the dough is kneaded, divide into 4 or more sections and shape them into circular mounds and let rest for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, the dough will have ballooned out a bit and you will need to flatten into discs about 1/4″ thick. Then allow to rise for at least an hour before baking.
And Voila! After the dough rises, poke with a fork and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. My oven is an induction and cooked very quickly.
Moroccan Semolina Homemade Bread Recipe
- 2 cups fine semolina flour
- 2 cups white flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon dry or fresh yeast
- 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups warm water (approx.)
- additional flour for kneading
- fine or coarse semolina for dusting the loaves
- Prepare two baking sheets either by oiling the centers, or by dusting the pans with coarse semolina.
- In a large bowl or , combine the fine semolina or durum flour, white flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Make a large well in the center of the flour mixture, and add the yeast.
- Add the oil and 1 1/2 cups warm water to the well, mixing to dissolve the yeast first, and then stirring the entire contents of the bowl to incorporate the water into the flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading the dough. If necessary, add flour or water in very small amounts to make the dough soft and pliable, but not sticky. Continue kneading for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the dough is very smooth and elastic.
- Divide the dough in quarters and shape each portion into a smooth circular mound. Roll the mounds in some coarse or fine semolina, pressing the grains gently into the surface of the dough.
- Place the dough on the prepared pans and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
- After the dough has rested, use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough into large, flat rounds about 1/4″ thick. Cover the loaves with a towel, and leave to rise about one hour or longer, until the dough springs back when pressed lightly with a finger.
- Preheat an oven to 425 F.
- Poke the dough with a fork in several places to create steam vents. Bake the bread for about 20 minutes – rotate the pans about halfway through the baking time – or until the loaves are nicely colored and sound hollow when tapped. Transfer the bread to a rack or towel-lined basket to cool.
I like to use half semolina to half white flour, but adjust this ratio to your preference. The more semolina you use, the more yellow in color and chewy in texture the bread will be.
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This is a great recipe. It’s basically fail proof. The bread came out soft and delicious. I’m not an avid baker but this recipe gave me the confidence I needed! I used my Kitchen Aid mixer for most of the kneading, then finished by hand. It is so good, sometimes I double the recipe or substitute a cup of white for wheat. I love Moroccan bread & this recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you so much!