Msemen

Ingredients

• 300g strong white bread flour
• 150g fine semolina, plus 100g extra for folding
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
• 280ml warm water
• 120g unsalted butter, very soft
• 80ml sunflower oil
• Honey and butter, to serve

Before you cook

• Mix the flour, 150g semolina, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl.
• Soften the 120g butter to the texture of thick cream, either by leaving it out or by warming it very gently until it is spreadable but not melted.
• Pour the sunflower oil into a shallow bowl and put the extra 100g semolina in another.
• Clear a large smooth work surface, ideally a marble or steel counter.

Steps

1. Pour the warm water into the dry ingredients in stages, mixing with your hand until a shaggy dough forms.
2. Knead the dough on the work surface for 10 minutes until it is smooth, elastic and slightly tacky. Add a splash more water if it feels stiff.
3. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each into a tight ball.
4. Roll each ball in the sunflower oil until it is thoroughly coated, then set them on an oiled tray with space between them.
5. Cover the tray and leave the dough to relax for 20 minutes. This is what lets it stretch without tearing.
6. Oil your work surface generously and place one ball in the middle.
7. Press and push the dough outwards from the centre with oiled fingertips, working around the circle, until you have a near-transparent sheet about 35cm across. Go slowly at the edges so it does not tear.
8. Smear about 1 tsp of the soft butter across the whole sheet, then sprinkle over a generous pinch of semolina.
9. Fold the left third of the sheet over the middle, then the right third over that, to give a long strip.
10. Smear a little more butter and semolina over the strip, then fold the top third down and the bottom third up to give a rough square.
11. Set the square aside on an oiled tray and shape the remaining 7 balls the same way.
12. Rest the folded squares for 10 minutes so they are easier to flatten.
13. Heat a heavy frying pan or flat griddle over medium heat with no fat in it.
14. Take one square and press it out on the oiled surface until it is about 15cm across and roughly 5mm thick.
15. Lay it in the hot pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the underside is patched with deep golden brown.
16. Flip it and cook the second side for 2 minutes, pressing the edges down with a spatula so they colour too.
17. Move the msemen to a plate and cover with a clean cloth so it stays soft, then cook the rest.
18. Serve hot, torn open and spread with butter and honey.