Durum Wheat Semolina Flour

Durum wheat semolina flour is not only used for couscous it is also used for a range of breads, crepes and pasta dishes.

Kesra is about 3/4" thick and is usually eaten with lben  (buttermilk) or kefir. I will post more extensively about lben and kefir later.

The thinner version are sometimes called Kabylie crepes, but the name will vary depending on the region. Kabylie crepes often times serve as a base for bean and vegetable toppings or are used to scoop food.

The thinnest are rougag, which are torn after cooking and serve as a base for a range of stews and sauces.

There are many more preparations using durum wheat semolina flour which I will discuss later. At the moment I want to focus on the fundamentals.

Note the thin kesra that I call Kabylie crepes are called kessar el yabssa "dry bread" or "la baguette sec" in Dellys, Bouremedes, Algeria. In Palestro they are called el fitira and 5km SE in Kadiria it's called kessra r'kika according to Hichem and Jilal. Jilal runs a hybrid forum blog. It is in French.

I used fine semolina flour for these preparations. On my family farm in Setif we use a rustic grind that could be described as a combination of medium and fine grinds.

The proportions are 3 parts flour to about 1 1/2 parts water. I do not have a measuring cup or measuring spoons at home. I will buy them before I post about leavened breads. 

That's about a heaping tablespoon of salt in my wife's fair, delicate hand. She has small hands, even for a petite woman.The art and soul of cooking is largely intuitive, it is about knowing what something should taste like, look like, feel like and smell like.

Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

At first the water and flour mixture will seem like a gritty wet mass.

Eventually it will come together to form a smooth dough. Knead with the base of your palm, pushing away from your body, give the dough a quarter turn, lift the flattened portion with your fingers towards your body and knead again with the base of your palm away from your body. Repeat until the dough is smooth and elastic. It took about 15-20 minutes.

The dough should feel like it can't be kneaded anymore and if you make an indentation with a finger it will quickly bounce back


Cover with plastic or a damp kitchen towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling. I've made the dough up a day in advance and stored it in the refrigerator.

Divide dough into two balls, flatten into a disk.

With a little practice this can be entirely by hand, by patting the dough between your hands using a criss cross clapping motion while turning the dough.

This was done with a rolling pin. The truc for even thickness s to apply pressure to the ends of the pin and not where the pin touches the dough.

Cook on low heat in a heavy pan for about 12-15 minutes on each side, turn every 10 minutes, watch for burning.

The inside looks like this when fully cooked. Kesra is thick and dense with the goodness of semolina flour in contrast to the light, fluffiness of semolina couscous.

Another bread commonly made at home is Khobz Dar or Pain Maison made with wheat flour and is eaten with soups and stews as well as lben.

Algeria Algerian Cuisine Algerian Recipes Algerian Food Algerian dishes Cuisine Algerienne Recettes Algerienne North African cuisine Maghreb Cuisine

Comments

[Nadia]

I just wanted to tell you that I'm used to make khobz eddar with semolina (Durum wheat semolina i buy in Canada)and yeast of course with a little bit of olive oil and 1 egg and sesame seeds(optional) and it's delicious.

I'm from algiers but I have friends from Sétif and I lived with very nices neighbours from Setif and believe I'll neither forget the kesra of khalti Zohra (allah yarhamha) when I was young.
Nice website, good luck!

[Karimah]

I loved when i found this site as it has helped me so much, im marrying an Algerian an want to cook some of his favorite things one which happens to be kesra........ thank you so much!
This is guaranteed to make him very happy :)

[Farid Zadi]

Salut Yolanda,

j'ai fait la salade de carottes pour toi aujourd'hui,je vais poster les photos.a bientot

[Yolanda Donavon]

~~~~~~ Bonjour,

Je recherche la recette de Carottes crues, épicées, servies dans les "Bistros" å Paris, å l'heure de l'apéritif.
Elles sont coupées en tranches tres fines et tres épicées...yum !
MERCI

[Ed McGaugh]

"The art and soul of cooking is largely intuitive, it is about knowing what something should taste like, look like, feel like and smell like."

Perfectly said Farid! I could not agree more! I have spent most of my adult life trying to recreate the flavors I experienced when I lived in the Middle East. Knowing what "it should" have tasted like was my only recipe. The rest was trial and error. But what a lovely learning experience it has been.

Thank you very much for making this blog.