Maarouk, the Levantine Brioche

Foodies+ , a G+ community, was more than an online community were we all got together and shared delectable recipes, but it was more like a family were we shared our food cultural heritage and our fondest food memories. It is unfortunate that this wonderful platform will be switched off in August 2019. But for the time being, let's continue to use this platform in the best way we know and keep this community as vibrant as it has always been.

October is "bread month" at Foodies+. A staple for most people across the globe, bread comes in more shapes, forms and tastes than you can think of. My choice to celebrate this theme is a wonderful bread that hails from one of the most ancient cities in the world: Aleppo, Syria. Maarouk, a brioche-like bread, is quite popular in Aleppo all year long, but it is especially popular during Ramadan.

Maarouk has a texture that is quite similar to a good brioche, but the flavor profile is different. While vanilla, and sometimes citrus zest, flavor brioche, maarouk relies on the aromas of anise, fennel and if available mahaleb (a cherry grown for its aromatic kernels)  to get its unique taste.

The process of making maarouk is easy but you need to be patient to get a a very soft and extremely tasty bread. (This one of the endless recipes you can find)

For the dough you need:

• 250 g bread flour
• 80 g lukewarm milk (37 C)
• 8 g fresh yeast or 2,5 g dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 30 g sugar
• 10 g honey
• 5 g sea salt
• 1 tsp fennel seeds 
• 1 tsp anise seeds
• 1 tsp mahaleb (if available)
• 100 g soft butter

First crush the salt with the fennel, anise and mahaleb seeds, set aside.

In a bowl combine the milk with the yeast and mix well until dissolved, add 80 g of the flour and mix again, add the rest of the flour over the mixture and cover the bowl and let it rest for half an hour.

Now add all the ingredients but the butter and knead for at least 10 min on a low speed. Once you have an homogeneous  and soft dough start adding the butter piece after piece and knead for 10 more minutes.

Transfer the dough into a clean bowl and let it rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in size. Now bring the sides to the middle, to let out the accumulated gases, cover the bowl and place in the fridge over night or at least 8 hours. I usually prepare the dough at night and leave it to proof in the fridge over night.

In the morning, or after 8 hours, take the dough out of the fridge and cut into pieces, depending on the braid you want to shape. I opted for a 6 strands braid so I divided the dough into 6 pieces about 90 g each. Braid the dough and leave it to rise, it will take between 2 to 3 hours, depending on the room temperature.

Before the maakrouk is almost ready, preheat your oven to 180 C for about 20 min.

Brush the bread with egg wash (1 egg with 1 tsp of milk and a sprinkle of  instant coffee). Leave it to rest 10 min and egg-wash it again, sprinkle sesame seeds or any other seed of your liking and bake for about 25 to 30 min or until golden brown. 

Once baked, place the bread on a cooling rack and brush it with a simple syrup (50 g water, 50 g sugar, few fennel seeds (optional) and few drops of lemon juice) and leave it to cool.

Enjoy a slice of maarouk with some honey, cream cheese, jam, or anyway you like; the options are endless. I personally enjoy this bread in the morning with a dollop of jam and a big warm cup of coffee for some comforting indulgence before the start of a long working day.

The bread will stay soft and delicious for at least 4 days, due to the slow fermentation process.

Insider tip: you can use the dough to make a wonderful stuffed bread perfect for breakfast. Stuff the rested dough with the cheese of your choice, let it proof for the final time, and bake as indicated. 

Semlor, Indulgent Swedish Cream Buns

The best thing about traveling, at least for me, is how it exposes you to all the different culinary traditions the world has to offer. You can spend a lifetime of traveling and you will still come across a new ingredient, a new dish, and a new cooking method. For a sweet tooth, my visit to a new country would not be complete if I didn't sample a traditional sweet or two popular among locals.

Years ago, I went to Sweden and spent a few days strolling through the charming streets of Stokholm, its capital city. When I got tired or needed a break I would go into cute coffee shops and enjoy a warm cup of coffee and people watch! The Swedes  have a beautiful tradition called "Fika", and though I don't know uf  there's an exact word-to-word translation to it, it basically means to have coffee. This coffee-break, often had in the afternoon, gathers friends and families around coffee, tea and juice, served along cakes and pies. As it turned out, one fika per day was not enough for me. Actually two were not enough for my I-want-to-try-it-all attitude. Luckily, the Swedes had enough to keep me coming back for more.

As I went to Sweden in summer, I did not get to sample one of its most popular treats: Semlor. This sweet bread, served before the lent season, is quite popular in the country and can be found seasonally throughout the month of February. I had known about it from Swedish friends. Though I would have liked to try it in Sweden, the Arctic Northern European winters of this land are a bit too cold for a Mediterranean girl like me!

My solution for this dilemma was to make my own semlor. I tried several recipes and was not satisfied with the results. The dough just got too dry in less than 24 hours. In my recent attempts, I adjusted the dough recipe and was rewarded with delectable semlor that will stay perfect for at least 48 hours!

For the dough you need: (makes 6 buns)

• 250 g bread flour
• 1 egg (the one I used weighed 65 g)
• 90 ml of warm milk (28C)
• 8 g fresh yeast
• 40 g sugar
• 3 g salt
• 60 g soft butter
• 1/2 tsp groung cardamon (I used a bit more as I love the cardamom aroma)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla paste

First start by making  a pre-ferment. Mix the milk with the yeast until it dissolves, then add 90 g of the flour, mix well then  add the rest of the flour over the mixture. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes. Once it rests, the flour on top of the mixture will rise and crack a bit pushed by the dough beneath.

Now add the rest of the ingredients except the butter and start mixing. A first mix with a wooden spoon then flip the dough over a clean working surface and knead for few minutes.  You can use your mixer of course, but I like doing that by hands.

After few minutes add the butter and keep kneading, the dough will be very sticky and all over the counter, don´t worry after minutes of mixing the dough will come together and won´t stick at all. It took about 25 min to reach that point. With a mixer, using the hook accessory, it will take you about 15 minutes.

Transfer the dough into a clean and greased bowl, cover and let it proof between an hour or 2 or until it doubles in volume. After that, tuck the edges to the middle of the dough, cover it again and leave it in the fridge over night.

In the morning, take about 75 g of the dough, flat it down a bit, tuck the edges into the middle of the dough then roll it into a nicely shaped ball.

Place all the buns on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, and let them rise again for about 2 hours or until they double in volume.

Heat your oven to 200 C, prepare an egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp milk and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract) and gently brush the buns. I brushed the buns twice then bake them for about 10 to 12 min or until golden brown.

For the almond paste you need:

• 100 g almond flour
• 20 g whole almonds (peeled)
• simple syrup infused with cardmamom (100 g sugar, 100 g water and 5 cardamom pods)

First start by toasting the whole almonds in a hot oven (100 C) for few minutes, then add the almond flour. By heating the almonds you will intensify the flavor and once you smell the almonds you know they are ready.

Mix the almond flour with enough syrup to make a paste, (if it´s too thick you can add some milk once you´re about to fill the buns). Crush the whole almonds and add them to the paste. You can skip the step, but I like the crunchy texture. 

For the whipped cream:

• 200 ml 35% cream
• 25 g sugar
• the seeds of one vanilla pod (or extract or paste)

Start with a cold cream and whisk; it helps the cream to whip quickly and to get a strong texture. Add the sugar and vanilla to the cream and whip until stiff peaks are formed. Pay attention to the cream all the time, if you whip too much you will get butter!

Assembly:

Once then buns are cold, snip off the top, fill with almond paste, then swirl the whipped cream, put back the top as a lid, sprinkle some powdered sugar and enjoy a delicious and amazing treat from the beautiful Sweden.

You can enjoy semlor with warm vanilla or cinnamon infused milk. The Swedes call this way of enjoying semlor "Hetvägg", which means "hot wall". I don´t know why they call it as such, but it´s really delicious and comforting.

Now rush to your kitchens and make some semlor before February ends and the lent season starts!