Taguella

Ingredients

Dough

• 800 gplain flour, or wheat and millet mixed
• about 450 ml water
• 2 tspsalt

Equipment

• a fire built on sand
• a shallow pit
• a flat stick or paddle
• a brush or cloth

To serve

• broken into a meat sauce
• with tea

Sauce

• goat or camel meat, onion, tomato, spices, cooked to a thick stew

Directions

1. Let it burn for a good while, since the sand underneath needs to absorb real heat and that takes time. The sand must be clean and dry, and desert sand is used because it is fine, even and free of debris.
2. Mix the flour and salt, then add water gradually to make a firm dough. Keep it firm rather than slack, so it holds its shape as a thick disc in the sand.
3. Knead it for 10 minutes until smooth. Shape it into a thick round disc about 4 cm deep and 30 cm across.
4. Make it thick. A thin loaf overcooks in sand this hot before the centre is done. Cover it completely with hot sand, then rake the embers back over the top.
5. Bake it for about 20 minutes, then dig it out and turn it over. Rebury it and bake another 20 minutes.
6. Brush every trace of sand off the loaf, thoroughly and repeatedly. Brush it, tap it, and brush it again. Pile the pieces into a large communal dish. Now pour the hot meat sauce over the broken bread.
7. Pour generously and let it stand a few minutes so the bread absorbs the liquid and softens. A dry unleavened loaf is heavy going, and moistened with sauce it becomes the dish. Serve it in one large dish and eat with the right hand, sitting around it.

Technique

• The sand acts as an oven, which is why the bread exists in a place without ovens.
• Brushing off the sand thoroughly is the part that takes practice.
• It is broken into sauce rather than eaten as bread on the side.

Substitutions

• A covered pot in hot embers, if you have no clean sand.
• A very hot oven, which produces a different but edible loaf.

Variations

• Made with a mix of wheat and millet flour.
• Baked in embers without sand.
• Served with a vegetable sauce.

History

Tuareg bread is baked in a pit of hot sand and embers, brushed clean, then broken up and moistened with meat sauce; it needs no oven.

Frequently asked questions

What is Taguella?

Taguella is a bread & pastry from Niger: tuareg flatbread baked under hot sand and embers, broken into sauce. Tuareg bread is baked in a pit of hot sand and embers, brushed clean, then broken up and moistened with meat sauce; it needs no oven.

How long does Taguella take to make?

Taguella takes 20 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large loaf. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Taguella?

Yes, within limits. A covered pot in hot embers, if you have no clean sand. A very hot oven, which produces a different but edible loaf.

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

Let it burn for a good while, since the sand underneath needs to absorb real heat and that takes time. The sand must be clean and dry, and desert sand is used because it is fine, even and free of debris.