Smen
North Africa's matured butter: soured milk churned, the butter washed, heavily salted and left for months until lipolysis turns it into a pungent, cheese-like seasoning used a spoonful at a time.
Msemen
rghaif
A square Moroccan layered griddle bread made from lightly yeasted wheat dough, stretched thin, folded with semolina and butter, and cooked until crisp and golden.
Square layered griddle bread
Msemen is a square, laminated Moroccan pancake served at breakfast or tea time. Christine Benlafquih calls it rghaif in some contexts and describes the measured recipe as popular in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. The formula below makes the square folded version. The source distinguishes it from meloui, a round, coiled relative, so the two names are kept separate here.
The dough is barely leavened with a small amount of yeast. Its layers come chiefly from stretching the dough very thin, spreading butter and semolina over it, and folding it repeatedly. The recipe uses a large work surface and generous oiling; much of that oil remains on the surface rather than entering the dough.
Sources for this section
Mix, rest and stretch
Combine white flour, fine semolina or durum flour, sugar, salt and ¼ teaspoon dry yeast, then mix in warm water. Knead until the dough is very smooth, soft and elastic but not sticky. Divide it into 20 small-plum-sized balls, place them on an oiled tray, cover loosely and rest for 10–15 minutes.
Oil the work surface and hands, then spread each ball outward with light, quick strokes until paper-thin. The sheet can be roughly circular; the folds make the square shape. Dot it with very soft butter, sprinkle with semolina and fold into thirds like a letter. Repeat the butter and semolina, then fold the rectangle into thirds again. Keep the folded squares in order, since the first one rests longest before cooking.
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Griddle cooking and layers
Heat a griddle or large pan over medium until quite hot. Place the first folded square on an oiled surface and pat it out to about twice its folded size, then move it to the pan. Turn it several times until cooked through, crisp on the outside and golden. Cook the squares in order, using more than one pan only if there is room to handle them without crowding.
After cooking, cool each square for a minute or two. Gently flex it back and forth by opposite ends to help loosen the laminated layers. Serve immediately or cool completely before freezing. The page describes reheating frozen msemen in a pan over medium-low heat or on a rack in a preheated 350°F (180°C) oven; that oven temperature is for reheating only.
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Handling and evidence limits
Flour is raw and may carry harmful bacteria. Do not taste uncooked dough; keep flour away from ready-to-eat foods, then wash hands and clean tools and surfaces after handling it. Use care around the hot griddle and oily work area.
The recipe gives a complete approximate batch of 20 small squares, with approximate amounts for oil and butter because shaping may use more or less. It does not give a numeric griddle temperature, a separate dough rise, or a scale-up formula. The page reports use across the Maghreb but does not establish that its exact method is shared everywhere.
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History
Christine Benlafquih identifies this measured formula as Moroccan msemen, sometimes called rghaif, and says the bread is popular in Tunisia and Algeria as well. The recipe page distinguishes the square folded form from round, coiled meloui. It does not date a first attestation or establish one formula across the Maghreb.
Ingredients
Yield 20 4-inch msemen (approx.) · Scaling: source batch only
828 mL3½ cup as recorded
118 mL½ cup as recorded
Choose fine semolina or durum flour.9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
The author suggests using less in very warm weather but gives no adjusted amount.355 mL1½ cup as recorded
Warm, not hot.237 mL1 cup as recorded
Approximate; more may be needed to oil hands, work surface and tray.118 mL½ cup as recorded
The author allows a coarser semolina if preferred.59 mL¼ cup as recorded
Approximate; more may be needed for folding.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Uncooked flour may carry harmful bacteria.
Hazard sourceHot griddle and oil
The method cooks oily dough on a hot pan or griddle and requires repeated handling.
Hazard sourceCook the dough before eating; keep raw flour and dough away from ready-to-eat food, then wash hands and clean utensils and work surfaces.
Control sourceUse care when working beside the heated griddle and transferring the oiled dough.
Control sourceDo not taste raw dough. Use care around the hot griddle and oily work surface.
- Mix the flour, semolina or durum flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the warm water and mix to form a dough.
- Knead by hand or with a mixer and dough hook until very smooth, soft and elastic but not sticky. Adjust with small amounts of flour or water if needed.
- Divide into small-plum-sized balls, smoothing their tops and sides. Set them on an oiled tray, cover loosely, and rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the dough rests, prepare a large, clean work surface and set out the oil, fine semolina and very soft butter. Set a griddle or large frying pan nearby.
- Oil the work surface and your hands generously. Dip one ball in oil and set it in the center. With quick, light strokes from the center outward, spread it into a paper-thin, roughly circular sheet; oil your hands as needed.
- Dot the sheet with butter and sprinkle with semolina. Fold it into thirds like a letter to make a long rectangle. Dot and sprinkle again, then fold the rectangle into thirds to make a square.
- Place the square on the oiled tray. Repeat with the remaining dough balls, keeping the folded squares in order.
- Heat a griddle or large frying pan over medium heat until quite hot. Start with the first folded square. Set it on the oiled work surface, oil your hands, and pat it firmly until it is about twice its original size.
- Transfer it to the hot griddle and cook, turning several times, until cooked through, crisp outside and golden. Transfer to a rack and repeat with the remaining squares; cook several at once only if the pan has room.
- After each msemen cools for a minute or two, hold it at opposite ends and gently flex it back and forth for a few seconds to separate the layers. Serve warm or cool completely before freezing.
Conditions
Yield20 4-inch msemen (approx.)
Active time40 min
Places
Morocco
Documented preparation · Country evidenceChristine Benlafquih identifies this lightly yeasted, square, laminated recipe as Moroccan msemen. This entry records her formula rather than every bread called rghaif.
Tunisia
Documented use · Country evidenceThe author says msemen are popular in Tunisia as well as Morocco and Algeria. This is a use association; the entry does not attribute this exact recipe to Tunisia.
Algeria
Documented use · Country evidenceThe author says msemen are popular in Algeria as well as Morocco and Tunisia. This is a use association; the entry does not attribute this exact recipe to Algeria.
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Sources
Taste of MarocInspiration · Method · Geography
Basic Msemen Recipe - Square Moroccan Pancakes20-piece measured recipe, 4-inch yield, flour blend, yeast, water, sugar, salt and shaping fat amounts; kneading, resting, paper-thin spreading, semolina/butter folding, griddle method, layer separation, freezing and reheating; Moroccan cuisine and reported popularity in Tunisia and Algeria; square msemen distinguished from round meloui.
Cited in: Square layered griddle bread; Mix, rest and stretch; Griddle cooking and layers; Handling and evidence limits
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowFlour is raw and may carry harmful bacteria; do not taste raw flour or dough; cook and clean hands, utensils and surfaces after handling.
Cited in: Handling and evidence limits