Mufleta

These simple pancakes are traditionally eaten at the Moroccan festival Mimouna, which marks the end of the Jewish Passover. The sweet breads are best served with butter and honey.

Credit: Tammi Kwok

• makes

  10

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tsp dry yeast
• pinch of sugar
• ½ cup warm water
• 250 g strong bread flour
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra for pan-frying
• butter and honey, to serve

Resting time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in about half the water and leave in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until the yeast bubbles.
2. Put the flour, salt and a tablespoon of the oil in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in the yeast mixture and enough of the remaining water to make a soft ball. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return it to the bowl and pour the remaining tablespoon of oil on it, rolling it in the bowl until it is oiled and glossy all over. Cover the dough with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1½ hours, or until doubled in size.
3. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions, then roll the rounds out on an oiled work surface as thinly as possible. Pull and stretch the rounds out to make the pancakes even thinner.
4. Place an oiled frying pan over medium heat. Fry the rounds one at a time for about 2 minutes, or until lightly coloured underneath, then turn them over and cook the other side.
5. To keep the pancakes soft and pliable, cover them with a cloth, placing each new one under the previous one (they harden quickly on cooling). You can reheat them in the oven, if necessary, as long as you wrap them in foil first. But you must definitely eat them warm, copiously buttered and honeyed.

Recipe from Cooking From The Heart: A Journey Through Food by Hayley Smorgon and Gaye Weeden, with photographs by Mark Roper. Published by Hardie Grant.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.