I want you to meet Baghrir.
Baghrir
Baghrir is from Morocco. He is beautiful, even with 1,000 pock-marks all over his face.
He once haunted me for a whole week and a half, as soon as I laid my eyes on his arresting, hard-to-ignore, can’t-get-your-eyes-off kind of look. Let’s just say it was love at first sight.
The haunting ended this morning, when I finally met Baghrir in person. And it was love all over again at first bite.
It’s hard not to. Fluffy and spongy, but yet chewy, baghrir will change the way you look at pancakes. It did me.
This isn’t saying that buttermilk pancakes, which I’m actually quite good at making and for which my family is known to beg me for (what a brag!), don’t have a place at breakfast or even dinner. But consider for a moment the possibility of cooking pancakes without flipping.
That’s what baghrir is. It’s an unflipped pancake.
Because it’s only cooked only on one side, the holes…..the haunting holes on the other side remain open as the batter cooks and dries, thereby creating the perfect vessel to soak up and absorb the melted butter and sauce put on top of it.
And that’s what makes baghrir the superior pancake, in my opinion.
Did I mention that baghrir is also egg, dairy, and oil-free? Too good to be true, you say? In this case, not the case.
So, please, please, try this baghrir. You’ll thank yourself after. Heck, you might even thank me!
The best way to enjoy baghrir is how it’s traditionally served, with warm honey butter syrup.
But to me, the better-than-best way to serve it is with chocolate sauce and banana flambé (banana rum sauce).
Boom! Mic drop!
***
This is adapted from a recipe from Saveur, which I thought needed more water. I also don’t think you need to blend it for 10 minutes (I blended my batter for just a total of 4 minutes) or rest it for 2 hours (I rested mine for just 30 minutes).
I guess it depends on how powerful your blender is and how warm your kitchen is.
You can also substitute the semolina with all-purpose or bread flour. This is a forgiving recipe. With either flour, however, you will get less chewy (softer) pancakes.
- 1½ cups semolina flour
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2¼ cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 ripe but firm bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup rum
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Combine all ingredients for the baghrir, except for baking powder, in a blender and blend for 2 minutes.
- Add baking powder and blend for 2 more minutes. The total blending time depends on how powerful your blender is. You're looking for a smooth batter the consistency of a crepe batter.
- Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours, or until batter is foamy.
- Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. No oil is needed, but if you find your pancakes sticking to the pan, you can rub the pan with a little bit of oil on a paper towel.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter (for a 5-inch pancake).
- Cook without flipping the pancake, until there is no more wet spots on the surface of the pancake, about 2 minutes.
- Serve with honey butter sauce or banana flambé and optional chocolate sauce and toasted nuts.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, add sugar, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until sugar begins to caramelize, stirring constantly.
- Cut bananas into bite-sized pieces. Add them to skillet, and cook bananas for 1 - 2 minutes until they're slightly browned, flipping once.
- Remove from heat. Pour in rum, and carefully ignite the liquid with a long match. If you have a gas range, instead of using a match, you can tilt your skillet slightly to catch the fire. Let flames die down.
- Return to heat, add vanilla, and cook for another minute. Sprinkle some cinnamon, then remove from heat.
- Combine equal amounts of honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat just until warm and butter is melted. Stir to mix.
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Very nice!!! Loving your bubbles ????
Thanks, Elaine! ?
I love making baghrir, I think I used the same recipe as you did!! Now I need to make them again, I had some with Rose water infused honey and others to scoop up some chickpea harissa stew!! They are perfect Angie??❤️❤️
Ooh…I haven’t thought about serving them with savory stuff, great idea! I think they’ll be good with grilled chicken and tomato sauce or maybe with pesto? Then again, everything tastes good with pesto ? I really love this baghrir, btw. Wish I had known about it earlier.
This is totally awesome..love to have this along with some spicy chicken gravy
It sounds so delicious with chicken gravy! I definitely need to make more baghrir. As soon as I get home, I’ll do it. Thanks, Lathi! ?
These look realllllly great! I love the vision of melted butter oozing into all those little pockets! 😀
They’re just so good! I was very pleasantly surprised. Just reading the recipe wouldn’t have made you think they could rival buttermilk pancakes. What, no butter, no eggs?! ? Can’t be THAT good, but they are!
These pancakes were made fresh every morning no matter what part of Morocco I was traveling in last May. Moroccans love them simply drizzled with honey or Nutella. Yours look delicious Angie!
It must have been amazing having baghrir in Morocco! I’d love to experience that. Maybe someday. Nutella on these sounds perfect, will have to try that! Thanks, Johanne! ?
Damn right I’m trying this one! It looks amazing. I’d definitely go for your version with chocolate and bananas 😉 Thanks for sharing this at Fiesta Friday. Happy Fiesta!
You just gotta try these, Sarah! Can’t say enough how good they are, especially with the chocolate and bananas. Thanks for cohosting! I hope you’re having fun! ?
I’ve been dreaming about them last night 😉 My pleasure! I had lots of fun ^^
Wow that looks to die for. 🙂 We in India have a pancake called Appam using rice flour which looks quite similar to this. Its usally eaten with mild chicken or veg stews or spicy curries 🙂 yum yum!
Thanks! Yes, they do look like appams, which I’ve tried. And I like them, too ? It shows how much alike many cultures are to one another. We’re not all that different! ? Give it a try, Trupti. I think you’ll like it!
I will I’m sure 🙂
These pancakes are too cool – never saw them before. Hard to believe they could compare to my blueberry pancakes or sour cream waffles but fun none the less. I would have to go with good ole Michigan maple syrup and maybe a few berries 🙂
Oh believe it, Judi, I don’t lie, lol. Not when it comes to food. I take food very seriously ? I thought myself buttermilk pancakes were as good as they can get, but these baghrir can give them a run for their money. They’re more versatile, too, I heard. Suzanne mentioned savory toppings for them!
I know you love food and you would not lead us astray. Because I love “bubbles” in food and there are so many in your pancakes these are too tempting not to try. I think I have semolina flour too… You have tweaked my curiosity 🙂
Let me know what you think!
Love the bubbles, they make tiny receptacles for syrup and sauces. Yum.
Exactly! An eye-opener for me and truly it’s a wonderful fool-proof recipe ?
I have never had Baghrir before but it looks so soft like a fluffly cloud 🙂
It’s soft and fluffy but yet chewy at the same time. I just can’t think of anything like it. The closest would be a crepe, but crepes don’t have those bubbles. I think baghrir is just the better crepe/pancake ?
I have to make these! These remind me of Kerala appams, like I said, but those are made with rice flour and this is probably heartier and more filling. I love the sound of that banana flambe topping! Have pinned away!
I think baghrir is less dense in texture, although appams have the crispy edges which are so nice. They’re similar and different at the same time. I think the best way to find out is just to make them. Let me know what you think, Shinta. And thanks so much for cohosting! ??
Angie, he looks amazing!!! It is so funny that I wrote the same content (haunted by food) for one of my posts next month. See? I have improved a lot… I guess.
Going back to this handsome guy, he looks gorgeous and yummy! Hahaha. Seriously, I need to try this recipe!!
Great minds think alike? Maybe?? ?? Yes, this handsome guy will not disappoint, Jhuls. How many guys you meet can be handsome and yummy at the same time? That’s so rare ??
I love your intro! These look so cool and delicious Angie! I hope you are having a nice summer! 😀
Thanks, Antonia! We’re trying our best to enjoy ourselves ?
OMGOodness! My first time in your blog! These look SO GOOD! That mic ? drop was right on time! Light and Love ❤️ Shona
Thanks so much, Shona! Welcome to Fiesta Friday!
These are so gorgeous! I can only imagine the texture and I have to make them. If I were home I’d make them right now. I’m at the folk’s though, and they already put up enough with my food experiements, and since it’s 2:00 in the afternoon and they’ll want dinner at 5 on the dot, I’ll spare them. For today anyway.. Bwahh haha
You need this, Mollie. And your folks do, too. They don’t know it, but they do ? Just so good! Can’t recommend enough! Try savory toppings like Suzanne suggested!
They are going on my bucket list, Angie!! 🙂
I’m in love with baghrir. Pock-marked and all! ???
You need to meet him in person! Wait til you see how I turned him into poffertjes, ha! Long story but one day I’ll probably write a post about it.