Moroccan Bread - Khobz
This recipe will yield 2 medium-sized khobz with a circumference of about 25cm and about 2cm thick. Some love their khobz thick, however, you will find the majority love it with more crust, and it's all about the crust. I have seen many Moroccans even remove the soft inside from thicker made breads.Moroccan bakery-made bread is often well over an inch thick though and they are usually the smaller sized type. Homemade khobz that are sold by the ladies in the markets, that cater to peoples preference of flour, tends to be much larger. And the larger the khobz round, of course, the flatter the khobz will appear. Regardless of the thickness, the round shape of Moroccan khobz allows for plentiful crust, which is the ideal part for dipping and scooping up Moroccan food.If you should ever have any leftover bread, which is barely ever the case in my household lol, it is best to freeze it. This way it will keep its freshness to enjoy another day when you need it. Just place it in a pre-heated oven and re-heat from frozen. It will defrost beautifully as though you just baked it. If it's made from whole wheat flour or semolina flour you can wipe over with some water moistened kitchen tissue before placing in the oven.
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients and bring them together
- Prepare two baking trays with baking sheets/paper or by lightly oiling them
- Mix the flours & salt together in a large bowl and make a large hole or well in the centre of the flour mixture and then add the egg and oil in that hole.
- Add the yeast into the measured lukewarm water, give it a stir and mix it in with your fingers if necessary so that it properly dissolves.
- Add the yeast and water mix to the middle of the dry mixture a little at a time stirring the entire contents of the bowl into the centre to incorporate the water into the flour.
- This will result in a sticky mixture and at this point, you can scrape any access dough off your hands back into the mixture and sprinkle a little flour on the top.
- Then you will begin to press the dough against the bottom of the bowl with a clutched fist. This will press any access dough around the edges and bottom back into the mixture.
- When the dough becomes sticky again, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour again and this time turn the whole dough upside down and back into the bowl again so that the bottom side is now the side you sprinkled the flour.
- Now you will repeat the process again. Punching down onto the dough mix with a clutched fist to press the dough back down again, gathering any loose or access bits of dough from the edges of the bowl and folding them back into the mixture.
- If the dough becomes too crumbly or appears stiff it needs more water and you can add this a tiny bit at a time to the bottom of the mixing bowl (not into the mixture itself).
- If the dough appears too sticky add a little more flour a small bit at a time until the consistency is soft & pliable but not sticky or stiff. You certainly wouldn't need more than the measured water for this dough unless you have managed to add more flour than needed somehow.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading the dough. This bit may take about 5-10 minutes by hand until the dough is soft, smooth & elastic.
- Divide the dough in half and shape each portion into a smooth circular ball. (you could even divide the dough into 4 smaller balls if you wished).
- Pat the balls down slightly with the palm of your hand
- Cover with a towel and allow it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- After the dough has rested, use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough into circles about 1cm thick.
- Place the dough onto the prepared pans. Cover with a towel again and let rise for another 20minutes to 1 hour depending on room temperature and type of yeast used. (instant yeast shouldn't need much time at all)
- There are several methods used to create steam vents for the bread to cook thoroughly. You can score the top of the bread with a very sharp knife, you can poke the dough through with a skewer in several places, or create a design of choice with a fork.
- At this point, you can choose to glaze the bread with an egg wash and add any seeds or sprinkle over some semolina flour, oats or wheat.
- Bake the bread for about 20 minutes or until light golden brown in a pre-heated oven at 435 F/225 C. Rotate the pans about halfway through the baking for even browning. Then transfer the bread onto a rack or a tea towel to cool.
