Walk through any Moroccan medina in the morning and you will pass a stall where a cook is slapping dough onto an oiled marble slab, stretching it until it is almost transparent, folding it into a neat square and laying it on a wide griddle. Msemen, also called rghaif, are sold this way to commuters and students, eaten at home with breakfast coffee or with afternoon mint tea, and they are as much a part of the Moroccan day as the call to prayer and the traffic. The folding traps fine semolina and butter between the layers, so the cooked pancake is crisp and flaky on the outside and pleasantly chewy within.

They are most often torn and dipped in honey warmed with butter, though a savory version filled with spiced onion and tomato is just as loved. The technique looks theatrical but is easy to learn: stretch, dot, fold, fold again. The first two will be lopsided and the third will be fine, which is the general rule for most things worth learning.

They are handheld, filling and happy to be reheated, which makes them a fine thing to have stacked by the stove during a long race morning.

The dough

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups (440 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (85 g) fine semolina
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• about 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) warm water

Method

1. Stir the flour, semolina, salt, sugar and yeast together in the large bowl. Pour in 1 cup (240 ml) of the warm water and mix with your hand, then add the rest a little at a time until all the flour is picked up and you have a soft dough.
2. Tip the dough onto the counter and knead it for 10 minutes, pushing it away with the heel of your hand, folding it back and turning it. If it sticks badly, oil your hands rather than adding flour.
3. Oil the tray well. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, about the size of a small plum, and roll each into a smooth ball by tucking the edges underneath. Set them on the tray, turn them in the oil to coat, cover with plastic wrap and leave them for 15 to 20 minutes.

Folding and cooking

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup (55 g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (85 g) fine semolina

Method

1. Oil the work surface and your hands generously. Put one ball on the surface and flatten it with your palm, then keep pressing and pushing outward from the center with oiled fingertips until it is a very thin round, roughly 9 inches (23 cm) across. Small holes do not matter.
2. Dot the surface with small pieces of soft butter, about 1/2 teaspoon in all, and sprinkle it lightly with semolina.
3. Fold the top third of the circle down to the middle and the bottom third up over it, like folding a letter, to make a long strip. Dot the strip with a little more butter and semolina. Now fold the right third of the strip into the center and the left third over it.
4. Put the square on an oiled part of the tray and repeat with the remaining balls, setting them out in the order you folded them. Let the last one rest for 5 minutes before cooking.
5. Heat the skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Take the first square, oil your hands and press it out gently to about 6 inches (15 cm) square. Lay it in the dry pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turning it every 30 to 40 seconds with the spatula so it cooks evenly. Cook 1 or 2 at a time.
6. As each msemen is done, stack it in a folded kitchen towel to keep warm and soft while you cook the rest.

The honey butter

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (170 g) honey
• 3 tablespoons (45 g) unsalted butter

Method

1. Put the honey and butter in the small saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the two are combined, about 2 minutes. Do not let it boil.
2. Pour the honey butter into a small bowl. Tear the warm msemen and dip, or lay them on a plate and spoon the honey butter over the top so it soaks in.

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