Moroccan Pancakes or Beghrir or Baghrir are soft , spongy and thick pancakes with many holes on top. These pancakes are made with yeast and semolina or durum wheat flour. They are served with honey butter or honey with roasted almond slivers. I have served them for breakfast with honey butter and orange segments topped with crushed hazelnuts and almonds.
I first came across the Moroccan Pancakes or beghrir or baghrir on a trip to Marrakech. After a long and tiring flight, I was looking forward to a genuine Moroccan breakfast, and I was not disappointed. When I first saw the beghrir, I was a little surprised because it reminded me of the Malaysian Peanut Pancake.
These small, ‘thousand holes’, spongy pancakes are known throughout the Middle East by a variety of names, although it has been speculated that they were first made by the Berbers. While the modern beghrir tends to use active yeast to leaven the batter, I witnessed firsthand how the traditional beghrir was made when I visited a small home at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Our tour guide’s kind family showed us how their family prepared the batter and allowed it to rest for hours ahead of time, enabling the fermentation process to create the ‘thousand bubbles, which is the signature of the beghrir. We were seated in a fruit orchard that was abundant with fruits hanging over our heads. They served us the Moroccan Pancakes with an orange blossom water and honey sauce and a side of amlou (a signature paste made of roasted almonds, argan oil and honey) along with their traditional mint tea.
I have had traditional breakfasts from Scotland to Bali and this was one of my all-time favorites. The beghrir was soft, bubbly, and fluffy, but the most surprising part of this repast was that it kept all of us full through most of the day. The meal served with mint tea tempered the sweetness making the entire meal incredibly refreshing.
What is semolina?
Beghrir can be served with almost any topping including fruit compotes, chocolate sauce, any sweet jams, but the key ingredient is semolina. So, what exactly is semolina and how is it different than regular flour? To answer that, you need to understand that flour is a generic term that refers to ground grains. While the majority of the flour product is wheat based, you can also make flour out of gluten-free grains such as almond, amaranth, coconut, corn, potato, oats, rice, sorghum, soy, tapioca, and teff. But for this dish, the traditional flour used is durum flour, which is also used to make pasta and, of course, couscous. Semolina is the coarse product of the milling process that is not flour. As such, semolina is an excellent source of protein, fiber, and phosphorus. Semolina has a high gluten content which is important in the cooking process because it enables the flour to hold its shape. From a flavor perspective, semolina possesses a rich earthy aroma as compared to the more processed and refined flour all-purpose flour. When cooked, its natural golden hue takes on a happy sunshiny color.
How to make the Moroccan Pancakes:
- How to make the pancake batter:
- Pulse all the ingredients for the batter except the orange zest in a food processor.
- Add the orange zest and whisk again.
- Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes, allowing the batter to rise or double in bulk.
2. How to make the Moroccan Pancakes:
- Heat a griddle and grease it lightly with the walnut oil. Scoop out half a cup of the batter and pour onto the griddle. Cook on medium or moderate heat.
- Allow the pancakes to cook completely and then remove from heat. There is no need to flip it over for this type of a pancake.
- In a pan, sauté the orange segments with butter for a minute. Turn off the heat and add the honey and mix well. Place an orange segment on each pancake and pour some of the honey on the pancake and garnish with hazelnut and almonds.
1. The batter must not be too thick or too runny. Add some water if the consistency of the batter is too thick.
2. I greased the pan or griddle with walnut oil for added flavor. Peanut oil can also be used.
3. Do not cook the pancakes on high heat. Medium or moderate heat will help cook the pancakes evenly at the bottom. There is no need to cover the pancakes or even flip them over.
4. I use two or three griddles at the same time to make many pancakes, instead of waiting for one after the other which would otherwise be more time-consuming.
Serving suggestions:
- Honey butter using equal parts of butter and honey mixed together
- A sweet honey syrup (see instructions)
- Hazelnuts or roasted almond slivers on top
- Amlou
- With mint tea
Storing:
The Moroccan Pancakes’ batter can be refrigerated for a couple of days. However, it is recommended that the pancake batter be made the day of. The cooked pancakes can be frozen for a couple of months using wax paper between each pancake stored in an airtight container.
Other Moroccan recipes to try:
Moroccan Pancakes
Equipment
- Food processor, griddle
Ingredients
For the pancake batter:
- ¾ oz active yeast
- 6.5 fl oz warm water
- ½ tsp sugar
- 6.5 oz all-purpose flour
- 2.25 oz semolina
- ½ tsp salt
- 1.5 egg
- 4.5 fl oz warm milk
- ½ tsp orange zest
- 1 tbsp walnut oil for greasing
For the garnish/syrup:
- 8 orange segments for garnish
- 4 tbsp hazelnut crushed, for garnish
- 4 tbsp roasted almond slivers, for garnish
- 3 tbsp butter unsalted
- 3 tbsp honey
Instructions
How to make the pancake batter:
- Pulse all the ingredients for the batter except the orange zest in a food processor.
- Add the orange zest and whisk again.
- Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes, allowing the batter to rise or double in bulk.
How to make the Moroccan Pancakes:
- Heat a griddle and grease it lightly with the walnut oil. Scoop out half a cup of the batter and pour onto the griddle. Cook on medium or moderate heat.
- Allow the pancakes to cook completely and then remove from heat. There is no need to flip it over for this type of a pancake.
- In a pan, sauté the orange segments with butter for a minute. Turn off the heat and add the honey and mix well. Place an orange segment on each pancake and pour some of the honey on the pancake and garnish with hazelnut and almonds.
Notes
Nutrition
these are so tasty!!
These are so great for the kids’ breakfast! Thanks for saving my mornings 😉
I’m glad that you like the recipe, thanks for the comment!
Great recipe!
Thanks, Ishani!