Moroccan Bread

A recipe from Paula Wolfert's book, Moroccan Cuisine. The bread is very dense, to help soak up all the lovely sauces that come with a tagine. When I was in Morocco we were served all-white bread, but this recipe with a bit of whole-wheat flour works well too.

• Ready In: 3 hrs
• Yields: 2 loaves bread

Ingredients

• 18  g active dry yeast
• 1  teaspoon granulated sugar
• 500  g unbleached flour
• 150  g whole wheat flour
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 8  tablespoons  lukewarm milk
• 1  teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1  tablespoon anise seed (optional)
•  cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Soften the yeast in 1 tbsp sugared lukewarm water.
2. Let stand a few minutes, then stir and set in a warm place until the yeast froths up.
3. Meanwhile, mix the flours and salt together.
4. Stir the yeast into the flour, then add the milk and enough lukewarm water to form a stiff dough.
5. The amount of water you need will depend on your particular flour but I need about a cup.
6. Add no more than 1/4 cup water at a time until you can see the dough coming together.
7. To knead by hand, turn the dough out onto a board and knead hard, adding water if necessary.
8. Knead for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic.
9. I prefer to use an electric beater with a dough hook and this takes 7-8 minutes at a slow speed.
10. Towards the end, add the spices.
11. Split into two balls and let stand 5 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, lightly grease a mixing bowl.
13. Transfer the first ball of dough into the greased bowl and form a cone shape by holding the dough in one hand and rotating it against the side of the bowl.
14. Turn out onto a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
15. Flatten the cone with the palm of your hand to make a disc that is about 5-6 inches across and slightly raised in the centre.
16. Repeat with the second dough ball.
17. Cover with a damp towel and let rise.
18. Paula says to let it rise 2 hours but I found mine was done in about an hour.
19. Preheat the oven to 200 C or 400°F.
20. Using a fork, prick the bread around the sides 3-4 times.
21. Bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 12 minutes, then lower the heat to 150 C or 300 F and bake 30-40 minutes more.
22. Remove and let cool.
23. Cut into wedges when you're ready to serve.