M'smen — Moroccan Flaky Flatbread (Lahlou-Inspired)

About This Recipe

This recipe is inspired by Mourad Lahlou's championship of Moroccan cuisine at his San Francisco restaurants Aziza and Mourad. M'smen is one of Morocco's defining home pastries — a square flatbread made from a semolina-flour dough that is stretched paper-thin, folded multiple times, and pan-fried until golden and flaky. It is eaten for breakfast with mint tea and honey, stuffed with sweet or savoury fillings, or torn into stews.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300 gfine semolina flour(or 2:1 plain flour and semolina mix)
• 200 gplain flour(plus extra for dusting)
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 1 tspcaster sugar
• 2 tspinstant yeast(optional, for slightly puffier texture)
• 300 mlwarm water(approximately)
• 120 mlneutral oil(for stretching)
• 60 gunsalted butter(softened, for layering)
• 60 gfine semolina(for dusting between folds)
• honey, butter and mint tea(to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Whisk semolina, flour, salt, sugar and yeast (if using). Add water gradually, mixing into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Rest covered 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Divide into balls

   Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Roll each into a smooth ball, brush with oil and rest covered 15 minutes.

3. 3

   The stretch — m'smen's signature move

   Generously oil your work surface. Take one ball and flatten with oiled palms. Stretch the dough by patting outward in all directions until it is paper-thin and you can almost see through it — about 30cm across.

   Don't worry if it tears slightly in places — small holes are fine.

4. 4

   First fold — add layers

   Brush the stretched dough with softened butter. Sprinkle a tablespoon of semolina across the surface (this creates the flaky layers). Fold the dough into thirds vertically (like a letter), then into thirds horizontally — you'll have a small square pocket of layered dough.

5. 5

   Rest and repeat

   Set aside the folded square. Repeat for all 8 balls. Once all are folded, return to the first one — it should have rested at least 10 minutes.

6. 6

   Final stretch and cook

   Stretch each folded square out gently to about 18cm × 18cm. Heat a wide skillet over medium heat. Cook each m'smen for 2-3 minutes per side, pressing lightly with a spatula, until golden, blistered and crisp at the edges. The layers should be visible.

7. 7

   Serve hot

   Stack the warm m'smen on a plate. Serve with a small jug of melted butter, a bowl of honey, and pots of fresh mint tea. Tear a piece, dip in butter or honey, eat immediately.

Variations

• •

  Stuffed M'smen (M'smen Bel Khlii): fold preserved meat or chopped olives into the layers.

• •

  Sweet M'smen: fold raisins, almonds and orange-flower water into the layers.

• •

  Savoury Khobz: serve alongside tagines or stews instead of breakfast.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days. Freeze cooked m'smen for 2 months. Reheat in a dry skillet.

Frequently Asked Questions