Traditional Moroccan cuisine includes a flavorful sweet roll called krachel. Anise and sesame seeds are key ingredients, but both may be adjusted to personal taste.
Moroccan food recipes tend to vary from family to family. When making krachel, preferences for using oil instead of butter, water instead of milk, might depend on family finances as well as personal taste.
As with most sweet dough recipes, allowing the dough to remain sticky (not dry) during kneading will yield a lighter, softer bread. The sticky quality will disappear during the first rising.
The following Moroccan recipe yields 20 to 30 rolls. The krachel recipe may also used to make fekkas, a crunchy Moroccan cookie.
Krachel Recipe
- 9 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp anise seeds
- 1 tbsp unhulled (golden) sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 tbsp yeast
- 1 1/2 cups very warm (not hot) milk
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tea glasses (approx. 1 cup) melted butter
- 1/2 tea glass (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
- 1/2 tea glass (1/4 cup) orange flower water
- egg wash made from 1 egg plus 1 tbsp milk
- unhulled sesame seeds or granulated sugar to sprinkle on the rolls (optional)
Make the Dough
- Blend flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the anise and sesame seeds.
- Sprinkle the yeast on the top of the flour mixture and add the warm milk. Allow the yeast to soak for several minutes, then add the butter, oil, eggs and orange flower water. Mix to form a dough that is soft and a bit sticky.
- If the dough is too wet to knead, add additional flour one tablespoon at a time. If the dough is dry and stiff, mix in additional warm milk or water.
- Knead for ten minutes or longer by hand – or five to ten minutes with a mixer and dough hook – until the dough is quite smooth. If kneading by hand, use as little flour as possible to keep the dough soft.
- Oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, turning over once so that the dough is oiled. Cover with a towel and leave to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. The dough should be easy to handle and not sticky after this rising.
Shape the Rolls
- Divide the dough into 20 to 30 equal portions (about the size of plums) and shape into smooth balls. Place on oiled baking sheets and allow to rest for a few minutes.
- Flatten the tops of the rolls slightly, and cover with a towel. Allow to rise until quite puffy, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Bake the Krachel
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Brush the rolls with egg wash, and sprinkle with sesame or course granulated sugar.
- Bake until deep golden brown, 17 to 20 minutes. Remove to a rack (it’s okay to pile the rolls on top of each other) and cover with a towel while cooling. The towel holds in the steam to keep the rolls soft.
- When completely cooled, place the rolls in plastic storage bags. Krachel will stay fresh one day at room temperature, but they keep best in the freezer.
Hints
- Toast unhulled sesame seeds by baking in a 350F oven for 10 minutes.
- If baking two sheets of rolls in the oven at the same time, halfway through baking rotate the trays from top to bottom, and front to back, to ensure even browning.
- Krachel and most sweet breads warm nicely in the microwave – just be careful not to make too hot.
- If using an oven to reheat, wrap the krachel in foil or the crust will become hard.
- Try this Moroccan trick: add ½ to 1 tsp instant coffee to the egg wash to achieve a deep brown color to the roll.
- It's common to find krachel without sesame seeds mixed into the dough; adjust the recipe to your own preferences.
- Serve krachel plain or spread with butter and/or jam, cream cheese, chocolate spread or peanut butter and jelly.
Enjoy home baked rolls? Also try this Homemade Hamburger Bun Recipe.
Christine Benlafquih - Christine (Amina) Benlafquih is a Morocco-based writer. She covers varied topics including religion, food, health and culture.
