Easy Baghrir (Moroccan Pancakes)

Soft, spongy and covered in hundreds of tiny holes, Baghrir are Moroccan semolina pancakes that are a breakfast classic across North Africa. These pancakes are unlike the American ones: they are light and airy in texture, and the tiny holes soak up every drop of butter and honey they’re served with. Best of all, baghrir are surprisingly easy to make at home – blend the batter, then cook on one side, no flipping required! In this post, I’ll show you how to get that perfect texture every time.

Baghrir’s Unique Features!

My kids love American style pancakes on the weekends, but they were ready to embrace Moroccan baghrir just as fervently. It’s hard not to love these pancakes, because they’re so fun to eat! The tiny holes create a light spongy texture and the toppings are totally up to you.

What distinguishes these pancakes from American ones is the following:

• They use a leavening agent (yeast and baking powder in my recipe), which contributes to the formation of the tiny little holes on the surface. This creates a very soft, spongy and airy texture.
• They are made using semolina, not flour. In my opinion, this contributes to a nutty, sweetness which enhances the flavour as opposed to using just plain old flour!
• They aren’t flipped! Only cook on one side. This means any topping you add, like butter or honey, is going to soak right in.

They are very similar to middle eastern qatayef, which can be made using the same base recipe, but they are stuffed instead of served flat.

Let’s Make Baghrir (It’s Easy!)

Grab your ingredients. Take note that we are using fine semolina in this recipe. Semolina comes in various sizes, so stay away from the coarse variety, but I think medium would also work in this recipe.

If you have a blender, place all of the batter ingredients in the blender. If you don’t have one, simply mix them all in a large bowl, then use an immersion blender to blend.

Cover the batter and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. That’s when the yeast will do its work and cause it to become bubbly.

Once you’re ready to cook the baghrir, heat the skillet and add a dab of butter. Use a 1/4 measuring cup, stir the batter, then scoop some and pour it into the skillet.

It’s important to stir the batter before you scoop each pancake, because you need to redistribute the yeast. This results in smaller more uniform air bubbles in the batter.

Each pancake needs about 1 minute to cook on one side. Remove them once you see the bubble surface no longer wet.

Place the pancakes on a towel lined tray, stacking them only back side over front bubbly side (if you stack bubbly side to bubbly side, they will stick!). Cover them with a towel as you cook to keep them soft and spongy.

My Favourite Way To Serve Baghrir

The traditional way they are served is with honey and butter, which melts into the hot pancakes. It’s quite delicious! I do often serve them with maple syrup for my Canadian kids though!

I love mine with a sprinkling of nuts like pistachios or walnuts as well as some sliced fruit like strawberry and banana. Chalk it up to the Canadian side in me.

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