Spongy pancakes riddled with thousand tiny holes, this is Baghrir my friends. When you are craving some sweet fluffy pancakes dipped in honey or syrup, here’s the recipe you need to make hassle-free authentic Moroccan pancakes at home.
Baghrir is a very airy and spongy kind of pancakes. A Moroccan traditional recipe that is unbelievably light.
I rarely make pancakes, I am not a fan either!!.
When my kids want pancakes, they usually make it themselves. They open the ipad, search for a recipe, gather ingredients and make it. I need to post a photo of the kitchen after they are done making it, complete mess :/.
Baghrir is a Moroccan twist to the pancakes, but let me tell you it is very easy to make and very light. It is spongy to the point that when you drizzle it with honey it soaks up all the honey and becomes succulent and so delicious. And it is so easy to make, much easier than the regular pancakes, let me show you.
First: put all the ingredients except the baking powder in a blender and mix well.
Then add the baking powder, mix again. Let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Heat an 8" skillet, pour the batter until it spreads all over the skillet. You'll notice lots and lots of tiny bubbles forming on the surface, much like the Atayef but even more in bubbles. Cook only on one side. Let it cool down and serve.
Batter should be runny, easily pourable and spreads easy to the edges of the pan. It should not be lumpy as the pancake one.If yours is not runny enough add more water by a Tablespoon at a time.
I was first introduced to the savory form of baghrir, my friend rolled them over hard boiled eggs cut into pieces, it was very good. She said they used to make it by hand back in the old days and it required lots and lots of mixing, but today's blenders made it super easy to make baghrir.
What I like most about baghrir - besides its spongy characteristic - is that it is very easy and that no guessing is required. I always hated the " do not overmix" word on the pancake boxes or recipes. With baghrir a twirl in the blender and it is done and successful too.
My kids ruined the Moroccan heritage by eating Baghrir with maple syrup, but at least they were kind enough to eat it with the pure natural one :). I enjoyed mine the traditional way, with honey.
This is a great recipe for breakfast/treat , easy, simple and you can make it for a change to your everyday pancakes. You can freeze and reheat just as you do with pancakes.
Have you ever tried Baghrir before? where did you try it? and what was your best way to enjoy it? If not, I hope you'll like this recipe and probably make it soon... Until next recipe, have fun in the kitchen.
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Watch this "how to make it" video:
Moroccan pancakes (Baghrir)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups warm water.
- ½ Tablespoon dry yeast.
- 1 cup semolina.
- ½ cup All purpose flour.
- a dash of salt , about ⅛th teaspoon.
- ½ Tablespoon baking powder.
Instructions
- In your blender, combine water, yeast, flour, semolina and salt, pulse until everything mixes well together.
- Add the Baking powder and mix again.
- Place in a container and cover to rise, will take approximately 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, the batter should be thin and not thick as the usual pancakes.*
- Heat an 8” skillet over medium heat, pour about ½ cup of the batter into the skillet. Batter should spread to the edges of the skillet, if not then thin it with more water . see notes for clarification.
- Small holes should appear all over the surface, continue cooking until no obvious uncooked surface appears. Took me 2 minutes to be completely cooked.**
- Let them cool down a bit before serving.
- Serving suggestions: Traditionally, these are enjoyed with butter and honey. Also for a savory twist, sometimes can be rolled over olive oil and hard boiled eggs( cut into small pieces. Practically, this can be enjoyed with your favorite syrup.
- Enjoy!!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Rebeca
It didn’t work, even though I followed the instructions as they are. It needed way more water than described
Amira
It is unfortunate the recipe did not work for you Rebeca although it worked for many others. I wonder what went wrong with you.
Jenn H
Perfect and delicious!
Mareli
Do you have a conversion in grams measurements?
Amira
Mareli, currently I don't. As soon as I can I will put it up.Thanks
Rox
Hi!
Id love to try these but as a diabetic i need to count some carbs and such. Are the nutritions per pancake or per 100 grams
?
Amira
Rox, it is per pancake. However because this is a sensitive issue to you and might affect your health, I recommend putting the ingredients in your trusted nutrition counter that your doctor/dietitian recommends just to be more accurate.
Debra Jones
Tremendous - loved them - ate with big smear of coconut vanilla yoghurt. Thank you. Will be making these again and again.
Debrah Fisher
Can I substitute this pancake for Ethiopian enjera as I am having trouble finding teff flour and I need (want) a flat bread to eat with my Ethiopian stews? Thank you.
Amira
Debrah, I have no experience in this. Let me know if it worked.
Chelsea
Can you save the batter? What is the method to re use
Amira
Chelsea, I have not done that before.
Tami
Why does my pancake come out like dense and doughy. No holes.
Stuart
Give it more resting time without the baking powder ( about an hour in a warm place) then mix in the baking powder just before baking.
Cook it with patience on medium hot pan…this should do the trick.
Vandana
Never heard of this before but very fascinated. will definitely try!
Anna
I made these this morning and they were delicious...but mine stuck quite badly to the pan. I actually sprayed with oil then realised there was no oiling of pan. I wiped excess out with paper towel, but will they be less likely to stick if I don’t oil at all? (I use your website all the time, by the way! Love your recipes)
Amy Samida
Hi Anna
I had the exact same problem with my first pancake. I was using an ungreased nonstick. I turned the heat up just a wee bit and it was perfect! No sticking at all.
Judith
Came across this a while ago, and finally tried it last night! Amazing! So tasty and easy to make, I like that you don't have to oil the pan or worry about flipping the pancakes. Had them for breakfast today with butter and jam(me) and butter and honey(hubby). Will definitely make them again, can't wait to try them with olive oil and eggs.
Amira
Thank you so much Judith for your feedback, I am so glad you liked it. These are the only pancakes I like honestly :).
learnenglishwiththeteflqueen
I am so excited to try this recipe! This was one of my favourite things to eat when I lived in Rabat! Yum yum yum!
Can I ask why you use a mix of flours? Does this make it lighter than just using semolina?
Thank you!!
Amira
I am so happy that you'll give this recipe a try. Thank you so much. Regarding the flours, this is how it is made as it is not the usual American style pancakes.
Tami
Why does my pancake come out dense and doughy, no holes at all.
Amira
Tami, this is really strange!! my first thought goes to the levelers. I guess one or both is expired or not working properly. Here is how to test them for freshness.
Bushra
maybe the water was not warm enough?
Nat
Oh dear, first thing tomorrow morning....fluffy here we come!
So glad I’ve found your page... Will spend my Sunday merrily wondering through. Xx from London
Amira
Oh Nat, you are so kind. Thank you so much.
Aysha
Can I skip yeast as I am allergic to it? Will it turn out good?
Amira
I haven't tried that Aysha, but my guess is it will not be as bubbly.. If you decided to go ahead and try it without the yeast I suggest that you increase the amount of baking powder used.
Safa
Thanks Amira for this delicious baghrir recipe!
Amira
Safa thank you so much dear.
Susana
Hi! Thanks for your recipes. I was looking for this recipe, because it was one of the things that I loved to eat when I was in Morocco some years ago. I have some doubts. Semolina is corn semolina or wheat semolina? I don´t have a regular blender. Can I use a hand blender? How much time does it take to be mixed?
Amira
Hi Susana, sorry for the late reply dear. Semolina here is the wheat semolina and you can use whatever to blend the ingredients, just make sure they are well mixed. It usually takes a couple of minutes in the blender to be mixed.
Vanya
Hello
I tried the recipe and I loved it. Everyone in my family enjoyed the bubbly texture,mum doesn't like honey so she had it with jam and enjoyed it.Thank you !
Also I faced one minor issue,the pancakes tasted a little bitter ,baking powder bitter,how can I correct it?
Thanks again
Love,from India
Amira
Vanya, baking powder should not have an aftertaste unless it is too much. Sure you did not use baking soda instead? If this is not the case then maybe using less of the baking powder would help. Let me know what do you think.
Lilo
Hello, here in the Netherlands I have only been able to find coarse semolina. Can I blend this up front and use it as fine semolina? Do you think it would work?
I hope to hear from you. Greetings
Amira
Lilo, thanks for your interest in this recipe. To tell you the truth, I have never done that before and I tried searching online and did not reach a definitive answer. Sorry about that, you can try though and make a tiny batch to check first.
Samaa M Zeitoun
Is the semolina fine or coarse?
Amira
Samaa, it is the fine one. the coarse one is called farina here .. so confusing right? Anyways, you may want to go to the resources page here you'll find links to farina and semolina in the pantry products section so you can take a closer look. Let me know if you need any more help.
C de MC
Excellent post. May I suggest that the the words Baking powder in the bodytext be changed for yeast?. The latter is among the ingredients listed in the recipe.This is a tiny flub but I think it is worth correcting. Thank you.
Amira
C de MC, thank you for the comment. It is not a flub, actually the recipe uses both .
Vanessa
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Amira
Vanessa, I haven't tried that but I would assume they will keep like pancakes.
Suzanne
These looks so good ! What a fun twist on pancakes! I bet kids love how they absorb syrup!
Amira
Suzanne, thank you for your sweet words. You bet, kids get excited about it every time.
Angelina
Hello Amira!
They look delicious but what is farina please?
Could I use my stick blender or do I need to use a proper blender?
Thank you 🙂
Amira
Angelina, thank you for your interest in this recipe, I hope you'll like it. Here in the US, I’ve found that Farina is what we call in the Middle East coarse semolina here is how it looks like . While Semolina on what is known in the Middle East as fine semolina. I hope this clarifies the confusion. Please reach out if you have any more questions.
Hanim
Hi Amira,
These remind me of what we call "crumpets" in Australia, which are also delicious with butter and honey! Loving your blog, I am half Egyptian with very little connection to my roots, so I am pleased to find your blog 🙂
Amira
The pleasure is all mine my dear. I am happy that you find my blog useful and I hope you’ll try some recipes and tell me what you think. I’ve never tried crumpets before as I am not a huge fan of pancakes but I seriously liked the baghrir . Will try to search for the aussi version ☺️.
Kim
Was very excited to try these, but they were tasteless. Much more than a very thin spread of honey is way too sweet for my taste so they were very bland. I'll stick to injera which has flavor from fermentation.
Amira
Thank you for being excited to try something new. Baghrir is spongy, airy and melt in your mouth kind of recipe. It should not give you a sweet or salty taste as it is the vehicle of many sweet/salty things as mentioned above. I suggest that you add less honey so as to suite your taste. Thanks for introducing me and my readers to the injera I will definitely give it a try.
abbe odenwalder
Love the sound of these. Honey or maple syrup-I don't care! These look great!
Amira
Thanks Abbe, you are right, this is delicious anyways :).
Marie Kléber
No blender her but I will try anyway Amira. It looks too good to miss it!
I'll tell you how it went.
Thanks and have a lovely day.
Amira
Marie, you can make it without a blender it will just take more time and effort from your part to mix everything well together. I hope you'll like it, please do come back and leave a feedback.
Juliana
This is totally new to me Amira, and I am loving the texture of these...I will definitely want to try it!
I hope you are having a wonderful week 🙂
Amira
Thanks Juliana, I hope you'll give it a try soon and tell me how it went with you.
kitchenriffs
I've had this dish, but never made it. It's really good, so I'm glad you provided the recipe! Honey sounds good, but I'm with your kids -- gotta try maple syrup, too. 🙂 Thanks!
Amira
My kids developed American taste buds :), their Middle Eastern ones are vanishing despite my efforts hehehe. Thanks John.
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth
I have been wanting to make baghrir since time immemorial, thanks to my love for pancakes... I suppose the MENA region's pancakes are yeasted than with baking powder like their western counterparts... correct me if I am wrong please! This one is right up my alley for sure...
Amira
Believe it or not this Baghrir has both yeast and Baking Powder!!! No wonder it doubles in size in even less than 30 minutes. This would make a great recipe for suhor as well 🙂
Novellian
Can this recipe be also used for Atayef?
Amira
Novellian, I did not try it as though, but who knows may be it will work. I've a couple of Atayef recipes on the blog here they are:
Atayef Asafiri
and Atayef with nuts
If you try it as Atayef please do come back and tell me how it went. I need your feedback. Thanks
Evelyne CulturEatz
Oh these are so cool! Totally want to try them and love that they are quicker to make 😀
Amira
Eve, they are actually easier but not as quicker as you need to let it rise. but def. much much easier. Thanks dear.