Krachel

Ingredients

Dough

• 700 gplain flour
• 150 gsugar
• 12 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 300 mlwarm milk
• 2eggs
• 120 gbutter, softened
• or 120 ml oil
• 3 tablespoonsorange-flower water
• a pinch of saffron, steeped

Aromatics

• 2 tablespoonsanise seed
• lightly crushed
• 3 tablespoonssesame seeds
• toasted
• zest of 1 orange, optional
• 1 teaspoonmastic, ground, optional

To finish

• 1beaten egg, to brush
• sesame seeds, to scatter

To serve

• warm at breakfast
• mint tea
• with harira and dates in Ramadan

Directions

1. Start with less and taste the dough. Too much makes it taste soapy. Crush the saffron threads between your fingers. Put the threads into a small bowl. Pour on a little of the warm milk. Let them steep for twenty minutes. Heat a dry pan over a medium heat. Add the sesame seeds to the pan.
2. Shake the pan constantly as they toast. Give them about three minutes. Tip them out of the pan immediately. A hot pan keeps toasting them otherwise. Warm the rest of the milk gently. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar in. Let it stand until it foams up. Give it about ten minutes to foam. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
3. Add the crushed anise seed to it. Add the toasted sesame seeds to it. Add the orange zest and mastic if using. Make a well in the middle of it. Beat the eggs and add them in. Pour in the yeast milk and the saffron. Add the orange-flower water as well. Bring it together into a soft dough. Adding the butter is done separately.
4. Knead the dough for about five minutes first. Add it in small pieces at a time. Butter added at the start slows gluten forming. Keep working and it comes back together. Kneading it takes real patience. Knead it for a further ten minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a large oiled bowl. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm.
5. Let it roughly double in size. Give it about an hour and a half. Divide it into even sized pieces. Roll each one into a smooth ball. Roll them under a cupped palm. Press down lightly as you circle. That tightens the surface into a smooth skin.
6. Set them on lined baking trays. Cover them loosely with a cloth. Let them prove for about forty-five minutes. They should look visibly puffed. Press one lightly with a fingertip. The dent should fill back slowly. Brush them all over with beaten egg. Scatter sesame seeds over the tops. Press them lightly to make them stick.
7. Heat the oven to one hundred and ninety degrees. Bake them for about eighteen minutes. Turn the trays halfway through. Judging them takes a careful look. Cover them with a cloth as they cool. That keeps the crust properly soft.
8. Set them out in a cloth lined basket. Serve mint tea alongside them. Butter and jam go with them at breakfast. Serve harira and dates in Ramadan. They keep two days in a sealed bag. Warm them briefly to soften them again.

Technique

• Three aromatics work together and none should dominate: anise seed for a warm liquorice note, toasted sesame for a nutty background, and orange-flower water for a floral top note. Orange-flower water brands vary enormously in strength, so start with less and taste, since too much makes the dough soapy and that is the commonest fault.
• The anise goes in whole and lightly crushed rather than ground, staying visible in the crumb and giving little bursts of flavour, and the sesame is toasted first because raw sesame tastes flat by comparison.
• Press a proved roll lightly with a fingertip: the dent should fill back slowly. Springing straight back means it needs longer, and staying fully dented means it has over-proved.

Substitutions

• Oil stands in for butter in many Moroccan bakery versions.
• Ground mastic and orange zest are optional additions to the aromatics.

Variations

• They are shaped as round balls or pressed into flat discs, both are made.
• Some bakers add raisins to the dough alongside the anise.
• They are eaten at breakfast and with mint tea through the day.

History

A staple of Moroccan bakeries and tea trays, often eaten during Ramadan alongside harira and dates.

Frequently asked questions

What is Krachel?

Krachel is a bread & pastry from Morocco: sweet rolls scented with anise, orange-flower water and sesame, served warm at breakfast. A staple of Moroccan bakeries and tea trays, often eaten during Ramadan alongside harira and dates.

How long does Krachel take to make?

Krachel takes 40 minutes plus rising of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 rolls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Krachel?

Yes, within limits. Oil stands in for butter in many Moroccan bakery versions. Ground mastic and orange zest are optional additions to the aromatics.

What is the most important thing to get right in Krachel?

Shake the pan constantly as they toast. Give them about three minutes. Tip them out of the pan immediately. A hot pan keeps toasting them otherwise. Warm the rest of the milk gently. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar in. Let it stand until it foams up. Give it about ten minutes to foam. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.