How’s it going friends? I’m excited to share today’s recipe with you. This is another one of my mom’s recipes, and this one is very dear to my heart. Today we make Krachel, or Moroccan style brioches.
I never called them Krachel. I always found that name to be boring and meaningless. Even in Arabic, it’s such a stupid name for such wonderful fluff.
I called them brioches.
My mom’s baking passion
As far as I can remember, my mom always had a bakery style oven. No, she never worked in a baker, and no she did not have 12 kids. We are a family of 5 (parents + 3 kids), and my mom thought that it would be wise to have a professional, bakery style, oven.
She bought it before I was born … When it was just her and my dad.
The funny thing is, I never even wondered why we had that thing. I was born, and there it was. For all I know all other families have one. Are you telling me that most people don’t make baguettes, croissants and brioches regularly? For the entire neighborhood?
I know you’re not serious.
This is all to tell you, that we always had brioches, and we had plenty of them. Mom used to make these in big batches because she knew that we all loved them.
On some days, I would have 2 for breakfast and 2 after I get back from school. With a hot chocolate, of course.
Needless to say, that those babies did not last for long. Especially when you take into account that my mom used to give some to her favorite neighbors.
I always wondered why she did that. I never asked her, but I ended up doing the same thing.
Food that can’t be shared is food that is not worth making. I’m sure she felt the same way.
Thanks for teaching me that, mom.
Moroccan Style Brioches
These are not your average brioches. They have a French element to them and a little Moroccan twist. They are very different from the standard brioches you will buy from Moroccan markets.
This brioche recipe strikes a perfect balance between French brioche (i.e. very buttery and moist) and Krachel, the Moroccan brioche (i.e. light, fluffy and perfectly spiced).
To hit that perfect Moroccan flavor profile, you will need to use these ingredients:
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground cardamom
- Orange flower water
Cinnamon and cardamom are pretty easy to find. The last ingredient however, not so much. You’re going to have to go to an “ethnic” grocery store and you will find it for sure. If you don’t feel like doing that, you can just use orange extract.
How to eat Krachel?
My favorite way is to do it, is to cut one open, butter it, add a little drizzle of honey (your favorite jam will work too) and dig in.
That’s my way though. You can do PB and jam, cream cheese and smoked salmon (Montreal style!) or something even more naughty. Dare I say, Nutella with a sprinkle of sea salt?
They are also good on their own 😉
Enjoy,
Idriss
Krachel Recipe | Moroccan Style Brioche
Ingredients
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 1 large free range egg
- 75 grams sugar
- 75 ml melted butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 100 ml warm milk
- 100-110 ml warm water
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp orange flower water you can sub for either orange extract or vanilla extract for a more subtle flavour
Egg wash : Mix the following ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
To your stand mixer bowl, add flour, salt, yeast, baking powder, cinnamon and cardamom. Using a whisk, mix your dry ingredients together. Place your bowl in the stand mixer.
To a separate bowl, add water, milk, butter, egg, sugar and your orange flower water. Using a whisk, beat all the ingredients together until you get a homogeneous mixture. Set your stand mixer to low speed and start slowly adding your wet mixture to your dry mixture. Once fully incorporated increase the speed and let the stand mixer knead the dough for at least 7-8 minutes.
Form your dough into a ball, place it in a large bowl, cover and let rise for at least 45 minutes, or until it double in size.
Once your dough is done rising divide into 16 small balls. Place your dough ball on 2 baking sheets (lined with parchment paper), cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 450 F.
Once your dough balls are done rising, score your brioches (I like to make an X), brush with your egg wash, and sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Take out of the oven, let your brioches completely cool down before serving. Enjoy!
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