Mofletta is the signature bread of the Mimouna, the Moroccan-Jewish celebration that marks the end of Passover. On the night Passover ends, Moroccan-Jewish families open their homes to guests and serve mofletta: very thin, slightly yeasty flatbreads cooked in a pan and stacked one on top of another, each brushed with butter, so they form a soft, layered tower that is eaten with honey. The Mimouna is uniquely Moroccan-Jewish; it exists nowhere else in the Jewish world, and it was carried to Israel by Moroccan immigrants, where it is now a national celebration. The bread is simple, but the occasion is everything: it is the dish of return to leavened food after a week of matzah.
Soft, thin and slightly stretchy, layered with melting butter and sweet honey; pulling a hot mofletta off the stack and rolling it up is the whole pleasure. Simple, warm and festive.
The dough is enriched with a little oil and rested for an hour, which develops the gluten enough to stretch it paper-thin without tearing. The stretching is done by hand, not with a rolling pin, because a pin compresses the dough and makes it elastic and resistant, while hand-stretching preserves its extensibility. Each mofletta is cooked for only 30 seconds per side, just enough to set the surface, so it stays soft and pliable rather than crisping. The stacking with butter is essential: each layer is brushed as it comes off the pan, so the butter melts between them, creating a stack that pulls apart in soft, greasy layers.
Variations
Some add a little jam alongside the honey. A savory version is served with ground meat. In Israel, mofletta is now eaten year-round, not only at Mimouna.
On the Palate
Where Mofletta sits in the Moroccan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
6 steps · 20 min
- 15 min
Mix 3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp yeast, warm water to make a soft dough; knead 5 min; rest 1 hour.
- 25 min
Divide into 12 balls; rest 15 min.
- 35 min
With oiled hands, stretch each ball into a very thin circle.
Watch outStretch each ball paper-thin by hand, never with a pin — a rolling pin tightens the gluten and the dough springs back tough instead of staying soft and pliable.
- 45 min
Cook in a dry pan 30 seconds per side.
Watch outCook just thirty seconds a side, only to set the surface — any longer and it crisps up instead of staying soft enough to fold and stack.
- 55 min
As each mofletta comes off, brush with melted butter and stack.
- 63 min
Serve the stack with honey for dipping.
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