After a series of articles that dug into Algerian cuisine,its roots and influences, here comes my first blog recipie about a typical Algerian bread called khoubz eddar or khoubz koucha, aka, home made bread or oven bread .
Both bread and yeast symbolise bounty and prosperity , so it’s not randomly that I chose a bread recipe to start my blog with, and mark my participation in the the world bread day event, initiated by zorra
As I was saying in my former post, khoubz eddar is a ceremony bread in Algeria , usually prepared during Aids, ramadan, and when receiving guests. the choices for decoration and flavoring are endless.
my mother for example, would always prepare few bird shaped bread for my sibbling and I , in addition to the more traditional round loaves. My late grand mother’s khobz, tasted more like a brioche than bread, as she would only use egg whites and add home-made orange zest or orange blossom water for extra flavouring.
By right, khoubz edar calls only for fine semoulina, but I prefer to mix it with all purpose flour as it’s hard to get a good quality semoulina in my area.
The following are old pictures taken from my french speaking blog……
INGREDIENTS:
600g good quality fine semoulina
400g all purpose flour
100ml oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk +extra water
2 tablespoon active yeast
GLAZE: 1 egg
sesamy or nigella seeds to sprinkle
optianal : 1 tablespoon butter for kneading
orange zest, orange blossom water for flavoring.
Together, sift the flour and semoulina, into a large bowl . add in the dry ingredients .put the oil, milk, and eggs in another bowl and beat with a fork until blended . gradually incorportate the liquid mixture into the flours . add extra water as you knead . place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. knead for 10 to 15 mn or until the dough is smooth and slightly sticks to the fingers. at this stage, you might add in some orange zest or 1tablespoon of orange blossom water if desired ( I usually don’t ) . for best results, you can use your kitchenaid or bread machine, as semoulina bread requires more kneading than flour based breads.
cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, punch down and knead for 5 to 10mn. incorporate 1 to 2 tablespoon soft butter ( optional) Divide into two equal portions .place them into two pre-oiled trays.roll each portion into a smooth circle about 8 to 10 mn thick. glace with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sesamy or nigella seeds. using a sharp knife, decorate the surface by scoring deep cut into the loaves or forming deep indents in the middle and drawing lines with the back of a fork. set aside for 30 minutes or until well risen
preheat the oven to 200 C. bake for 20mn or until golden brown . leave to cool on a wire rack. serve warm with a delicious tajine.
RECETTE EN FRANCAIS :
ingredients:
600 g de semoule,
400 g de farine,
2 tasses a cafe’ d’huile ( 100ml)
1cas de sucre
2 cac de sel
une tasse de lait tiede + assez d’eau pour ramasser la pate
2 cas de levure de boulanger
Dorure : un oeuf
greins de sesame ou de nigele pour saupoudrer le pain.
Facultatif : une cas de beurre mou
zeste d’orange ou un bouchon de fleur d’oranger pour aromatiser le pain.
Procedure:
Dans une grande jatter, tamiser ensemble les deux farines. ajouter les matieres seches. melanger les matieres liquides ensemble puis les ajouter aux farines. ajouter de l’eau et continuer a petrir pd 10 a 15 mn jusqu’a l’obtention d’une belle pate homogene qui cole legerement aux doigts. )vous pouvez a ce stade ajoute le zeste d’orange ou la fleur d’oranger pour aromatiser le pain ( je ne le fais generalement pas ) vous pouvez petrir votre pate dans une kitchen aid ou a la machine a pain etant donne’ que les pains de semoule demandent un petrissage plus long que ceux a base de farine ordinaire. couvrir la pate et laisser la doubler de volume a l’abris des courrants d’air.
reprendre la pate, la rabattre , . vous pouvez aouter a ce stade une ou deux noisettes de beurre mou, tout en continuant a petrir. la diviser en deux portions egales que vous etalerez en deux galettes de 8 a 10 mm d’epaisseur . dorer a l’oeuf et garnir de greins de sesame ou de nigele . . laisser lever une demie heure puis mettre a cuire dans un four chaud, pendant 20 mn environ ou jusqu’a l’obtention d’une surface bien doree’.
a consommer tiede avec un bon tajine.
Simply.... Algerian 