Msemen
Vegetarian
مسمن · msemen
Flaky, square layered flatbreads made by stretching a soft dough paper-thin, folding it with oil, butter and semolina, then griddling until crisp. Eaten warm with honey and butter or tea.
Msemen is a Moroccan bread from Morocco, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and semolina. It serves 10 and is rated intermediate to cook.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 15 min
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Serves
- 10
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 235
Ingredients
For folding and cooking
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, 100 g semolina (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt, then add warm water gradually and knead for about 10 minutes to a very smooth, soft, slightly sticky dough.
- 12 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
Oil your hands and divide the dough into 10 balls. Oil them, cover and rest for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Mix the remaining oil and melted butter (opens in a new tab). On an oiled surface, press and stretch a ball into a very thin, translucent sheet. Brush with the oil mixture and sprinkle with semolina (opens in a new tab).
- 15 min
Small tears don't matter — they're hidden in the folds.
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 4
Fold the sheet into thirds like a letter, then into thirds again to make a square. Repeat with the remaining balls and let them rest a few minutes.
- 10 min
Step 5
Flatten each square to about double its size and cook on a hot, lightly oiled griddle, turning a few times, until golden, crisp and cooked through.
- 30 min
- medium heat
- Griddle / tawa (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels Step 6
Serve warm, drizzled with honey (opens in a new tab) and butter (opens in a new tab), or alongside mint tea.
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Morocco · Commonly attributedMade across the Maghreb (also Algeria and Tunisia, sometimes as mlawi); most strongly associated with Morocco.Also popular in Algeria, TunisiaMore food from Morocco
- Dish
- Breakfast · Snack · Breads & flatbreads
- Cooking method
- Pan-fried
- Taste
- buttery, mild, savoury
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWith the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style - Good for
- Freezer-friendly · Make-ahead
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Semolina · Sugar · Butter
- Techniques
- Pan-frying · Kneading
Allergens
- Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom butter
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, semolina
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, semolina
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
235 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 80 g · recipe makes 10
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 8%
- Carbohydrate 56%
- Fat 36%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 235 kcal | 296 kcal |
| Protein | 4.8 g | 6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 32.8 g | 41.2 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 31.5 g | 39.6 g |
| Sugars | — | — |
| Added sugars | 0.4 g | 0.5 g |
| Fibre | 1.3 g | 1.7 g |
| Fat | 9.2 g | 11.6 g |
| Saturated fat | 2.5 g | 3.2 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 9 mg | 11 mg |
| Sodium | 260 mg | 327 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.7 g | 0.8 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 57 mg
- Calcium
- 10 mg
- Iron
- 2 mg
- Magnesium
- 13 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 27 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 121 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- Optional ingredients are not included: honey.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Keep the dough balls and your work surface well oiled; the dough should stretch almost see-through.
Common mistakes
- A firm dough won't stretch thin — it should feel very soft.
Serve with
- With honey and butter, or with soft cheese and olives, and Moroccan mint tea.
Storage
- Cool and freeze, separated by baking paper, up to 2 months.
Reheating
- Reheat from frozen on a dry griddle until crisp.
Variations
- Stuffed msemen: Fill with a spiced mixture of onion, tomato, herbs and minced meat before folding.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 40 min
Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.
Rest · about 15 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 30 min
Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.
- Start to finish: about 1 h 25 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semolina | Flour | 30 g | 100% |
| Neutral vegetable oil | Fat | 55 g | 184% |
| Butter | Fat | 40 g | 133.3% |
- Total flour
- 30 g
- Hydration
- —
- With milk, eggs…
- 0%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Fat 317.3% — a rich, tender dough.
If something goes wrong
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Tough or chewy flatbread
Likely causes
- Dough too stiff
- Not rested
- Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan
What to do
- Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
- Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
- Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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