Gourmandise: Kesra

By Za,

This is an Algerian traditional type of bread. It's typically made my in region of Kabyle-land. It's crunchy, smells of olive oil and and is eaten with anything e.i. dips, stews, soups, fish, cheese, Chakchouka, with butter, jam, honey, Nutella, or just plain.. etc. Also known as: Aghrom Aqoran. (which means: hard bread in Tamazight Language)

It's extremely easy to make. There are many other kinds of Kesra made in different other regions. We have 48 states, and each one of them has up to 4 different kinds of Kesra/also called khobz tajin . Some people make it with flour, some add herbs (such as, mint, fennel grains, thyme ..etc). Other people add eggs, or they simply knead it for longer and add an extra portion of yeast to make it puff up 1inch (or 1inch and a half= 3cm) thick. Moreover, there are people who bake it in a masonry (stone) oven and others who put the dough to cook in hot ash or hot sand. However, most Amazighs in the north use what we call a tajin - a Tajin base made of clay. Some people, also, use iron Tajin base or Tawa nowadays.

This one is fairly thin. It's about 1cm thick only.

For my simple Kesra you will need:

A bowl of semolina (fine or medium)
2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil.
A pinch of salt.

( I always add a tsp of yeast to make it fluffier) but it's optional. I prefer with.

Warm water - enough to assemble the mixture into a dough.

The method:

put all ingredients together and mix. Rub thoroughly the semolina and oil between your hands and enjoy the smell of olive oil.

Add the yeast - optional.

Mix well.

Then, start adding water bit by bit to make a dough out of it. Once you grab everything in your hand. knead it for 30seconds. (not a lot) and let it rest for 5 to 10 mins.

Flatten it down to 8mm (millimeters) with a rolling pin or with your hands if you're good at flattening and round-shaping dough.

Lay it on a hot tawa or a large pan. ( I used the pan this time.. got a better result Alhamdoulillah)

let the bottom side cook brown/red-ish before you flip it over.

Here are the steps in Picture: