Table of Contents
Kesra is a traditional Algerian flatbread that is prepared from semolina and that is served both for savory and sweet meals.
As a holdover from French colonization, many Tunisians and Algerians today accompany their meals with baguettes (which can be found at any corner bakery).
Most households, however, also make their own traditional North African style bread, and if you ask us, they are much tastier. Today we’re featuring kesra, a round, soft, and chewy bread with cook marks.
Origin Of Kesra Bread
Kesra is an Algerian bread native to the Eastern part of the country that is semolina-based and has the shape of a round flatbread.
It is called khobz ftir in Algiers, kesra to the east and aghroum n’tajin in Kabylia. This recipe is very simple. Traditionally, it only consists of semolina, oil, salt, and water.
The history of bread starts with the Upper Paleolithic, in the middle of Prehistoric Times. Unleavened bread traces were found at several sites dating from 30,000 BC. Men ate grains in their raw form, without any preparation and prehistoric bread was a porridge made of raw wild grains crushed and wet with water.
One day, men decided to grill this porridge into patties. This was really by chance, around 3000 BC, when a bread dough was forgotten, that the Egyptians invented leavened bread where wheat grain is crushed in a mortar.
It is in large earthen vessels that the dough was kneaded with water from the Nile, rich in silt and natural ferments close to baker’s yeast. This dough was forgotten and as it rested a few hours, it fermented naturally.
It is the Greeks who perfected the technique of baking bread in the oven. Their daily bread called maza was a simple unfermented barley flatbread, and their festive bread called artos was wheat bread. Both were cooked on hot stones.
After a few years, the Greeks abandoned this cooking technique for one that used an oven with a frontal opening. In the second century AD, there were 72 varieties of bread in Athens!
Kesra Recipe
To make kesra, the Algerians use a cast iron pan or Dutch oven with embossed circle lines at the bottom. Without this special pan, it is possible to create lines with cookie cutters.
Kesra is an essential accompaniment to soups such as chorba or harira, bell pepper salads, but also butter, milk, and buttermilk.
For this recipe, only use fine and/or medium durum wheat flour.
Whether it is Moroccan, Tunisian, or Algerian, the cuisine of North Africa is very rich. Every country in the Maghreb has its specificity, the ingredients are often the same, but the skill is different from one country to another.
In Morocco, people call it harcha. It is the same recipe except for one detail: the Moroccans add a few pinches of baking powder to their bread but the taste and the texture are fairly similar.
Be sure to recreate this incredible traditional Algerian flatbread. Bon appétit!
Kesra
Ingredients
- 5 cups flour all purpose, unbleached
- 1 tbs salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil can use olive oil as well
- 1 ⅓ cup water amount may vary
- Sesame seeds or black seeds optional
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, and oil. Add in any seeds at this point if using them.
- Note: There are several ways to mix bread dough. In a bowl/counter top by hand, in a standing mixer with a dough hook, or in a bread machine. If using a bread machine, just make sure to stop it and remove the dough before it begins the rising process.
- Add the water and begin mixing until all the ingredients come together.
- Note: Amount of water used may vary depending on humidity, elevation, etc. You want enough water so that the dough comes together and is soft and smooth but also firm enough to be easily formed into rounds and hold together nicely when it needs to be lifted/moved.
- Knead the dough until it comes together in a smooth, homogeneous ball. Divide the ball into smaller, evenly-sized balls about the size of a fist. (This recipe should yield you about 5-6).
- If the dough starts to feel dry at any point, smooth a little oil around the outside.
- Lightly cover the balls of dough with a little oil to keep the outside from drying and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat a flat, shallow pan over medium high heat and grease lightly with oil. A heavy pan such as one made of cast iron works really well. Try to find one with embossed rings to get the circle pattern on the bread.
- Begin rolling out the first ball of dough. Use your hands or a rolling pin. Roll into an even circle about ¼ inch thick.
- *Note: You’ll know the dough has adequately rested when it doesn’t spring back as you are flattening it. If it does spring back, set aside and let rest longer. Also, while working with one piece of the dough, make sure to flip and add oil as needed to the other balls of dough so they don’t dry out as you are working.
- Carefully lift your bread and place on the pan. To do this gently flip half of the circle over and place your hand underneath, and use your other hand to help flip it back over and lift the other half--the goal is to have two hands flat underneath the bread. You can also use a wide, oiled spatula to help you.
- Let cook for several minutes on each side. Use a toothpick to poke small holes in the bread to keep air bubbles from forming.
- Remove from the pan and set on a cooling rack while to finish cooking the rest of the bread.
- Serve while warm with your favorite food. It’s great with olive oil and harissa, or as a side to a delicious stew. (It can be served in whole discs or cut into triangles.)
