Sourdough Ksra [Moroccan Anise, Einkorn and Barley Flatbread]

This Sourdough Ksra, a Moroccan-style flatbread, is leavened with wild yeast and includes anise, whole grain einkorn flour, and purple barley flour.

 

Moroccan Ksra is the bread of the month for the Bread Baking Babes.  Kelly, of A Messy Kitchen chose this bread because Moroccan tagine is one of her daughter’s favorite dishes, and she wanted to make a flatbread to go with it.

I made my Moroccan Ksra with sourdough and wholegrain flour.  Although it is rather flat, it is full of flavor and nutrition due to the whole grains.

I made the dough on Sunday but didn’t bake the bread until Thursday. It was a very wet dough and giving it a cold ferment in the refrigerator was a good idea; however, leaving it in the refrigerator as long as I did, probably wasn’t.

Dough made using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes’ method can typically be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for up to a week or more, but because this version was adapted, I would recommend using this dough sooner rather than later.

I baked the first loaf on a baking steel without a steam pan and it popped up like pita bread.  I thought that was pretty cool, but I didn’t have anything to fill it because this wasn’t what I was planning to do with it.  So I just took a bite.  I enjoyed the flavor and texture.

When I baked the second loaf, I added a steam pan, which in hind sight probably wasn’t necessary, but I wanted to test it and see what happened.  This time, the bread didn’t pop up like a balloon; it ended up being flat, more like a crunchy pizza.  It was a wee bit too crunchy. If I had been shooting for a cracker, perhaps this would’ve been the ticket.

Needless to say, I got some interesting results.  To get consistent results, I would need to make this a few more times.  I probably will at some point but I ran out of time for this challenge.

Next time I make this bread, I’ll try baking it on the baking steel again without the steam pan to see if I can get the pita version again.  That one tasted really good!  I think it would make a tasty sandwich.

 

Sourdough Ksra (Moroccan Anise and Barley Flatbread)

Kelly’s version was adapted from the New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book, then Elizabeth of Blog from OUR Kitchen converted it sourdough, and I adapted it further by using freshly milled whole grain flours.

My adapted version is listed below:

Makes: two 7-8″ rounds

leavener
26g sourdough starter (I used my einkorn starter)
113g 100% whole wheat einkorn flour
113g water

dough
295g whole wheat einkorn flour (freshly milled)
45g barley flour (freshly milled from purple barley grains)
3g whole anise seeds
all of the leavener
277g water (you may need less water if you use a different flour)
9g kosher salt

Prepare the leavener the evening before making the dough:

In a medium bowl, combine the sourdough, flour, and water and mix thoroughly.  Cover and let rest at warm room temperature for 8-12 hours.

Next day, make the dough:

In a large bowl or container, whisk together the flours, and anise seeds.  Pour in the water, and stir with a large wooden spoon or dough whisk and mix until the flour is incorporated fully.

Cover and let autolyse for 30 minutes.

Add in the leavener and salt and mix thoroughly.  You can add a little water if necessary, but my dough was wet enough it didn’t need any additional water at this point.

Cover and let the dough rest until it is fully risen, about 2-3 hours.  Stretch and fold after the first hour, then let it rest for another 1-2 hours. Place in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 3 days.

You may use the dough after the initial rise, but it will be easier to work with cold.   Just don’t wait too long!

To bake:

Divide the dough in half, dust with flour, and shape each portion into a ball by stretching the sides down to the bottom of the ball and folding the dough under.

Flatten each ball into a ¾” thick round and let rest on a parchment-lined or cornmeal-dusted pizza peel for 20-30 minutes.  Optional to brush the surface with oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds or more anise seed.  It’s also optional to poke the dough with a skewer in a few places before baking.

My dough was too wet to form into a ball so I just spread it out on a piece of greased parchment paper.  Then I poked the dough with a skewer and sprinkled it with sesame and caraway seeds.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450ºF.  Place a baking stone near the middle of the oven and a metal pan or broiler tray on an unused oven rack and heat a cup of water to use for steam while baking.  (If you do not have a baking stone, you can use an inverted baking sheet, a cast iron pan, a pizza pan, or the grill on high!)  (If you use a grill, you will need to flip the dough periodically.)

Slide rested loaf directly onto the hot stone.  Pour 1 cup of hot water into the metal pan or tray for steam and quickly close the oven door.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes until richly browned and firm.

As I mentioned previously, I baked my bread on a baking steel (on the middle rack of the oven).  One loaf was baked with a steam pan (with ice cubes, not hot water) and one was baked without steam.  I preferred the bread baked without steam better, but in hindsight, I may not have let the baking steel preheat enough after the first bake.  

Allow to cool before cutting into wedges to serve.

 

 

Baking with the Bread Baking Babes

Would you like to make Moroccan Ksra with us this month and get your very own Buddy Badge?

Check out Kelly’s post for information on how to participate in the monthly bake.

New recipes are posted every month on the 16th. Check out our Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.

 

All of the Babes have their interpretation of this bread so please check out their posts for more inspiration:

• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
• Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
• My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Pat
• Bread Experience – Cathy

 

Happy Baking!
Cathy