بغرير / Morrocan Beghrir (Baghrir) Recipe or Moroccan Pancakes / Crêpes Marocaines aux Mille Trous!


No, no, these are not crumpets! These are crepes of a thousand holes called "Baghrir", pronounced as BAR(French R=REER (English R) = بغرير .  The letters "gh" in the word "Ba gh rir", together are pronounced like the French "R", similar to a gargling sound in the back of the throat, like in the French word "Rivière".  On the other hand, the letter "r" in the word "Bagh r i r " is pronounced like the rolling English "R", as in the word "Rain".

Baghrir is one of the most well known of Moroccan crepes, originally hailing from the South of Morocco, known as Souss Region, and it is a Tamazight/Shalha name, which means "Too soft".  If you call someone, especially a man "Zayd Aya Baghrir", this phrase could be seen as insulting, thus insinuating; "He (the Man) is too submissive, too obedient, too weak, etc.."!

These baghrirs are eaten throughout Morocco, especially during Ramadan for breaking the fast, but they are such a great treat anytime!  Traditionally, they are served with a sauce of butter-honey, but can also be served plain, with jam, peanut butter or chocolate spread, or Amlou Paste etc....They are readily available in small and large sizes, and can be purchased in most local Souks or big supermarkets.  However, there is nothing like a hot, homemade baghrir drizzled with a mixture of butter and honey, making you feel cosy and keeping you happy.  Baghrir is so easy to make, and to be honest, you don't even need a recipe to go for it.  In fact, if you can make pancake or pudla or crumpet or crepe, you can definitely make baghrir.  Everyone can make baghrir, the only thing you need is a honest and clear recipe with cooking tips, then you will learn quickly how to master the making of such a delicious treat!

Baghrir is usually made out of hard unbleached flour all purpose or fine semolina, known in French as "Farine de blé dur non blanchi ou semoule très fine", or sometimes, a combination of other types of flour such as; rice flour, or white flour, or corn flour, which are also used on occasion to achieve a certain texture or taste, though these baghrirs are less popular.

These little holes that you can see in the top of baghrir are the results of adding baking soda or baking powder to the yeast and thanks to them, thus, allowing baghrir to soak up anything you choose to spread on them, and perfect for holding the butter you will surely want to melt on them.  However, my grandmother as well as my mother, never added "baking soda" or "baking powder" to their baghrir batter, and their crepes still ended up with these little, cute and delicious holes on top!  What was their secret? Unfortunately, no one in my family can tell!

When I was young, I remember how my sisters and  I were so excited watching my mother and grand-mother, while they were cooking these delicious baghrirs.  We all waited watching what they were doing, counting those little bubbles once they started to pop up all across the surface.  When it’s cooked, we ate it all!

I usually make baghrir for breakfast on Saturdays, it is our delight of the weekend.  It has that light unique, soft, spongy, tender texture with an attractive honeycomb appearance and is cooked only on ONE (1) side.  Though best straight out of the pan, they can be made ahead of time and heated up in a hot pan.  Don't use an oven or toaster to heat them up, because they will turn out too crispy.  Microwaving will just make them soggy, so it is not recommended.
I'm sending this recipe of Baghrir over to Susan's Yeastspotting, at Wild Yeast
Mamatkamal




N.B. You can make Baghrir with milk instead of water and add some vanilla flavour 
Vous pouvez remplacer l'eau par le lait et ajouter quelques gouttes d'essence de vanille


















Comments

Oumsara Ilham said…
Maachallah 3lik mamatkamal,baghir kay7ami9,khasso ghire wahid lbarrad atay,tbarkellah 3lik hada howa lbaghrir ola fala,bssahtik o rahtik
Unknown said…
I can't believe the size of those holes! Have you ever seen our crumpets? They look like massive version of those.
Katy ~ said…
At first, I too, thought these were crumpets. I must try these, and when I do, I shall think of you, my beautiful friend.

Wonderful, wonderful pictorial. Thank you for the time you put into this post. Your pictures helped me to see exactly what you are doing. You are among the very best!
Sarah said…
Wow, these are really interesting. I can hardly wait to try them. They look like what we call English muffins but much larger.

Please check my blog for a surprise.
Nadji said…
Tes crêpes sont une réussite totale.
Les trous sont la preuve de ta dextérité.
Je vais essayer la technique de la poêle froide car j'utilise une poêle très chaude.
Je t'embrasse.
fimere said…
l'idée de la poêle froide je ne connais pas mais vu le résultat de tes crêpes ça vaut la peine d'essayer
elles sont bien trouées et légères comme je les aime, je t'en félicite c'est une belle réussite
bonne journée
~Lexibule~ said…
Belle découpe qui dévoile tout et qui ouvre grandement l'appétit:)xxx
Wonderful post, thanks so much for sending it to YeastSpotting! Your blog is lovely.
Madam Chow said…
I've never heard of this bread, and it looks fantastic!
MC said…
Magnifiques, ces crêpes. Elles font un peu penser à l'injerra, cette éthiopiennes au teff... Bravo pour ce beau blog pétillant de vie !
Joanne said…
These look like a cross between crumpets and injera (Ethiopian bread)! Delicious either way.
Cathie said…
i thought they were crumpets aswell!
I think I may try them on the weekend for my family, thanks for the great recipe & instructions.
Tuty said…
I stumble upon your blog through Wild Yeast. Oh my... I have to try this or at least learn from your tips when I make the Indonesian pancakes.
Eva said…
Mamatkamal...excellent blog and AMAZING post. These baghrir are the most perfect baghrir I've ever seen! honestly. I read that time ago women were "valued" according to the number and size of holes they got on their baghrir...you would be a queen!:-) I hope you don't mind, but (I'm spanish and recently joined an excellent forum on bread, that though it's in spanish you are sooo welcome to visit and become part of, if you like) so I linked them to your recipe because it is sooo amazing! I just tried to make it...But,my holes weren't as incredible as yours!I had to go just after making the batter, so instead of 30 min. I left it for 3 hours! perhaps that's why!:-) or maybe I added too little water (about 520g) or too little soda bicarbonate (1/4 tsp)...I hope you can guide me in the right direction!Other than that I did cool down the pan from crêpe to crêpe and just turned it on (to number 8 on my induction which runs from 1 to 11...maybe too high?) I think that's what you meant, right? because all other recipes I've seen up to now ladle the batter on a prewarmed pan. Anyway, thank you sooooo much for sharing this wonderful recipe!!!!The forum by the way is on http://elforodelpan.com/ if you want to have a look!I feel obliged for this great recipe, so if you like I also recently started a blog that I hope you can find some recipe you may like.
Estos pancakes deben ser una verdadera delicia.
Buen día
Unknown said…
Oh wow! I was looking at how to make my own hummus but I got into this site. I am currently working from home selling import export goods online so I have a lot of free time to learn how to cook and bake. I really need to learn!
ScottyB said…
Thank you for this recipe, now that i am working from home i have time to make these treats for my family.
Bergamot said…
This is a really detailed tutorial and will make a wonderful breakfast treat. Thanks for the recipe
Anonymous said…
Hard to find the fine semolina. Tryed your recipe and got flat crepe like pancakes, Will try again. Batter was foamy, as in recipe, however bubbles did not form.Will try again.Nancy
aziza said…
Enfin j'ai trouve la semoule fine et j'ai essayé ta recette, j'ai eu pleines de trous partout, et nous nous sommes régalés au petit dejeuner grâce à toi et ta générosité sans limite. Je crois le soda ou la levure chimique sont le secret, je n'ai jamais réussi bghrir avant. merci encore mamatkamal, j'aime ton blog, continue à nous poster tes secrets culinaires et tes belles recettes. Le Maroc est fier de toi mon amie
Aziza Arach
Anonymous said…
Thank you! Baghrir are delicious, much better than american pancakes. I have made them a few times over the fast few days. They have a lot of bubbles, but yours look even better and bubblier!
Miriam M. said…
They look and taste like somali/ethiopian/djibouti bread called laxoux, which is similar to injera in technique, but practically equivalent to bghrir in appearance, taste, cooking technique and prep, only laxoux's batter is more sourdough pancake and served with butter and sugar, or dipped in syrupy sweet cha! (somali spiced tea)As I'm married to a Moroccan I'm finding many similarities in Somali cuisine. I'm so happy you've shared this recipe. Thank you so much!
Unknown said…
salam ma belle,tout d'abord awacher mabrouka,dit moi hbiba j'zi un probléme de connexion en france,mais par contre ce mois là je suis au maroc,j'ai aucun probléme, tu peu me dire pourquoi,merci d'avance
Thanks everyone for your visit and your comments.
Cheers

@mimi doudou: Merci et Eid mobarak said à toi aussi et ta famille, je n'ai aucune idée pourquoi la connexion ne marche pas de la France. Passes de très belles vacances au Maroc.
Mamatkamal
Unknown said…
merci hbiba dyali, aid moubarek toi aussi pour toi et ta famille,gros bisous ma belle


ilham qui t'adore
Tes baghrir sont superbes! Oh, j'adorerais en manger avec du bon miel bien coulant...

Bises et bonne semaine,

Rosa