Msemen
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.
Modern adaptation
Tunisian mlawi
mlewi · mlaoui
A Tunisian semolina flatbread, stretched with oil, folded into layers and cooked in a pan.
A layered Tunisian bread
Mlawi is a Tunisian flatbread stretched with oil and folded before cooking. It can be eaten with sweet accompaniments or used for a filled street-food sandwich. This home recipe includes a small amount of yeast; other versions omit it.
Sources for this section
A recorded household preparation in il-Kaf
A published transcript from il-Kaf in northwestern Tunisia places mlawi among locally prepared household breads. In sections 28–30, the speaker describes fine semolina, folding with oil and cooking in a tajin set over a gas stove. This is a documented account of equipment and handling, rather than a claim that the bread began in il-Kaf.
The transcript supports the importance of folding and pan cooking but supplies no replacement quantities for this batch. The Tunisian Way recipe's small yeast addition, one-hour rest and ten small portions remain intact; other versions need not use that same leavening.
Sources for this section
Plain bread or a filled meal
Rahma Rekik describes mlewi as a Tunisian street-food sandwich, with possible fillings including harissa, cheese, egg or tuna. Her breakfast examples include dairy spreads, jam, olive oil and honey. These are serving choices, not ingredients added to the dough below.
The bread itself remains the subject of this recipe. A filled sandwich would introduce its own ingredients and handling needs. No single filling, historical origin or storage duration follows from the name mlewi.
Sources for this section
History
Mlawi is documented in Tunisian home and street-food cooking; no first attestation is established.
Ingredients
Yield 10 small flatbreads · Scaling: source batch only
Very fine semolina
500 g
Salt
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Dry yeast
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Lukewarm water
350 mL
100 ml for yeast and 250 ml for dough; a little more if neededOlive and vegetable oil mixture
100 mL
Equal parts; use 50 ml to coat dough, remainder for shaping, with more if neededMethod
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Contains wheat (semolina).
Do not taste raw dough; raw flour can contain harmful germs. Wash hands and surfaces after handling it.
Take care with the hot pan and oil.
- Stir the yeast into 100 ml lukewarm water and leave for 10 minutes.
- Mix semolina and salt, then add the yeast mixture and remaining 250 ml lukewarm water. Add a little more water if the dough is too dry.
- Knead for about 10 minutes in a mixer or 15–20 minutes by hand until smooth and elastic. Coat the dough with 50 ml oil mixture, cover and rest for 1 hour.
- Divide into 10 small balls. Heat a pan. Oil the work surface and a ball of dough, then stretch it thin with your hands. Fold the sides inward and fold again to make a square; gently spread it if needed.
- Place the shaped bread immediately in the hot pan. When brown spots form underneath, turn and cook until the other side has spots and the layers are cooked through. Repeat with the remaining dough, adding oil as needed, and cover the finished breads with a clean cloth.
Conditions
Yield10 small flatbreads
Fermentation1 h
Places
Tunisia
Documented preparation · Country evidenceSources document Tunisian mlawi; a precise birthplace is not established.
Related
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Harissa
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Sources
The Tunisian WayInspiration · Method · Geography
Homemade Tunisian Mlawi – recipeMeasured semolina-and-yeast dough, ten small portions, oil folding and pan method.
Cited in: A layered Tunisian bread; A recorded household preparation in il-Kaf
Carthage MagazineContext · Geography
Mlewi: The Most Popular Tunisian FlatbreadTunisian street-food and breakfast uses; an alternative unmeasured-water preparation.
Cited in: A layered Tunisian bread; Plain bread or a filled meal
Heidelberg University PublishingContext
Traditional Recipes from il-Kǟf (Northwestern Tunisia)Indexed transcript sections 28–30 describes fine-semolina mlawi folded with oil and cooked in a tajin on a gas stove, among il-Kaf household breads. Direct chapter access denied by anti-bot protection.
Cited in: A recorded household preparation in il-Kaf
Wikimedia Commons / TouzrimounirImage reference
Mlawi 1.JPGIndividually checked CC BY-SA 4.0; not PD/CC0 and excluded.