Moroccan Jews serve these hand-formed yeasted crepes warm from the pan and spread with butter, honey, jam, or chopped pistachios.

Recipe adapted from The Jewish Cookbook (Phaidon)

Method

• In a large bowl, stir together the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Let sit until foaming, 5–10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt
• Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and stir until the dough begins to come together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead well, adding a little additional flour, if needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a supple, slightly tacky dough, 5–10 minutes. (You can do this in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, 5–7 minutes.) Grease a large bowl with about 1 teaspoon oil, add the dough, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Drizzle a large sheet pan with enough oil to coat the bottom. Roll golf ball–size pieces of dough into balls and place them on the baking sheet, turning to coat in the oil. Rest for 30 minutes.
• Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-low heat. While it’s heating, take one of the dough balls and press it with your fingertips into a very thin round 20–15 cm in diameter. (It should be translucent, and it is okay if the dough tears a little.) Gently transfer the dough round to the frying pan and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate.
• While the first dough round is frying, flatten the next one. Continue flattening and frying dough rounds, nudging the heat up or down as needed to avoid burning, until all the dough balls are fried. Layer the completed crepes on top of one another in a stack. Serve hot or warm with desired toppings.

First published in the JC April 2021