Berber Bread Recipe

Fatma Bahkach, Sidi Benzarne. Photo: Gabriele Galimberti

From Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week, In Her Kitchen: Stories and Recipes from Grandmas Around the World by Gabriele Galimberti (Clarkson Potter):

Fatma Bahkach and her husband have two sons, who are thirty-six and thirty-four years old, and a six-year-old grandson. They all live together in the same house, along with her elder son’s wife. Though the house is not big, there is enough space for everybody, and it lies just ten minutes outside of the village and fifteen minutes from the sea. Fatma is the only cook in the house. “Cooking for the family is my job,” she says, explaining that the rest of the family works in the fields from dawn to dusk. “Dinner is the only time of day when we are all together under the same roof, because for lunch I usually prepare something that I take to the field. Every morning I wake up early to bake our special fresh bread, which is the easiest dish to take to work.”

This Berber bread is not so different from the Italian schiacciata (a flat loaf of bread), and the ingredients and the process of making it are very similar. The difference is in the shape and baking. The Berber bread is cooked in a cast-iron pan and is softer than and not as crusty as the Italian bread.

Bat Bot (Berber Bread Baked in a Pan)
Makes 4 large (8-inch) loaves or 8 medium (6-inch) loaves

4 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1½ cups warm water (120° to 130°F), plus more as needed

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly pour the water into the bowl, whisking with a fork or using your hand to combine all of the ingredients. If necessary, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time. When the dough comes together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands until it is smooth and soft, about 10 minutes.

Divide the dough evenly into 4 (or 8) pieces and roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly with your hand. Place the disks on a clean, well-floured dish towel. Dust each with a little more flour and cover with another towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Working on a lightly floured work surface with 1 disk at a time (while keeping the other disks covered), use a rolling pin or your hand to flatten each disk until it is ¼ inch thick and measures about 8 inches (or 6 inches for medium loaves) in diameter. Place a dish towel dusted with flour on a baking sheet or large board and transfer the flattened disks to the towel, cover, and let rise in a warm area for 1 hour.

At this point, preheat a 9- to 10-inch cast-iron pan over medium-low heat until it is hot, about 5 minutes. Place 1 disk in the pan, letting it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Turn the bread over and heat for 4 to 5 minutes more. Continue turning the bread over every few minutes until it is evenly brown on both sides and the disk is puffed up (12 to 14 minutes total cooking time). The bread should be soft inside, with a thin crispy crust outside.

You can eat the bread plain or you can stuff it with chicken and vegetables.