Eeating and meeting in the Rif > Food > Bread

Bread

In Morocco, the towns are full of small bakeries. Fresh bread can cost as little as one dirham a piece.

The most common bread is round and contains some wholemeal. The amount of wholemeal varies from bakery to bakery. The variation applies partly to the inside, i.e. the proportion of wholemeal flour used. Most breads contain quite a little wholemeal, some only a minimal amount. The variation also applies to the outside. Some breads are covered with crushed wholemeal, but inside they can still be almost white.

Bread is khubz in Arabic, in both Darija (Moroccan Arabic) and Standard Arabic. In Rifiya, the word aghrum is used. If you say khubz or aghrum, you will probably be given a round bread, with little or no wholemeal.

Wholemeal bread

Many places that sell bread also offer wholemeal bread. In Darija, you say khubz sha3ir. In Rifiya, you say aghrum abershan, which literally means black bread.

Softer bread

If you’d prefer completely white bread instead, the safest option is to buy a different type of bread. This bread has the same round shape and thickness as the standard bread, but is much whiter and softer in texture. It is called maTloua or baTouTa.

I have seen maTloua / baTouTa made with wholemeal just once. It tasted good. The main difference from ordinary bread is that the texture is softer.

Baguette

If you want a baguette, it’s easy, as the word baguette is used in both Darija and Rifiya. If you want a wholemeal baguette, say baguette sha3ir in Darija and baguette abershan in Rifiya.

Fried bread

Msemen is a type of fried bread. It is rolled out into thin layers, which is why it is crispy and oily. There is also wholemeal msemen, which I think tastes better.

Harsha is made from cornflour, and is usually sweetened. There is also wholemeal harsha, which consists mainly of wheat grains.

Beghrir is known as Moroccan pancakes, but I don’t think the comparison is very apt. In appearance, beghrir does, of course, resemble pancakes. They are round and have lots of small dimples.

Msemen and harsha is a good option if you are not hungry but want something tasty inbetween meals. The same goes for croissants, which are usually easy to come by. I haven’t tried beghrir, but I imagine they’d be good as well. There’s also sfenj, which I haven’t tried either; they’re round and deep-fried, just like doughnuts.

Where to buy bread

There are small bakeries that consist of nothing more than an oven or a stove set up on the street. They often only have a couple of types of bread, which, on the other hand, is fresh and tasty.

There are also larger bakeries with a varied selection that also sell sweet pastries.

There are also carts and tables on the street selling bread that is made in a nearby bakery.

In Sweden, it is common to go to the shop and buy industrially baked bread in a bag. This is unusual in Morocco. Most grocery shops are small and do not belong to a chain. These shops usually get their bread from a nearby bakery and store it in a glass display cabinet, often outside the shop.

Bread toppings

In bakeries and shops, you just buy bread. There are also stalls and small outlets along the streets where you can buy bread with toppings. You simply say what sort of bread you want, how much, and what topping you want.

A common topping is processed cheese. This type of cheese comes in small triangular packets. Personally, I don’t think this topping is nice. Cream cheese is much tastier, which is available in shops, but I suppose the triangular cheese is easier to store.

Memlou is a Moroccan speciality commonly used as a spread. It consists of ground sweet almonds, oil and sugar. Authentic memlou contains argan oil, which is quite expensive.

Memlou is quite sweet. For those who want something even sweeter, there is industrially produced nut butter. Honey is also usually available.

Butter is also available as a spread, though I see it more often on the breakfast trays in cafés. Butter is zubda in Arabic and Darija. The butter considered to be the tastiest is called zubda baladi, which can be translated as locally produced or organic butter.

In my opinion, the tastiest spread is olive oil. Fresh wholemeal bread dipped in olive oil – that's amazing!

It is common to combine different types of toppings, such as honey and oil.

Bread – a summary

We have looked at so many types of bread that a summary might be in order.

Bread for meals:

Pastry bread:

Toppings: