Mlaoui

Mlaoui — also spelled melloui — is the Moroccan breakfast flatbread that is layered and folded like a rough puff pastry, producing a bread that is flaky, crispy and layered rather than soft and puffy. It is closely related to msemen (already in the database), but mlaoui is made with a wetter dough and folded into a round rather than a square, giving it a different texture: more crispy layers, less chewy center. Both breads belong to the Maghrebi tradition of layered griddle breads that stretches from Mauritania to Libya, and both are eaten at breakfast with honey and butter or with savory fillings. The layering technique, brushing the dough with oil and folding it, is the same principle as puff pastry, just on a griddle instead of an oven.

Crisp and flaky on the outside, soft and slightly chewy inside, with a rich oiliness from the layered dough. Dipped in warm honey and butter, it is the best Moroccan breakfast.

The layering works by the same principle as puff pastry: oil between the layers prevents the dough from bonding as it cooks, so each fold creates a separate, flaky sheet that crisps on the griddle. The dough must be very wet and slack to allow the stretching and folding, which is why mlaoui dough feels almost like batter when first mixed; it firms up as the flour hydrates during the rest. The griddle must be hot but not smoking, so the layers crisp without burning the oil between them.