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Holiday Mufletas

March 22, 2021
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The discovery happened as I was sifting through medieval cookbooks of the Iberian Peninsula. The recipes were all in Arabic, written during the period when Spain was ruled by the Islamic empire of the Moors, but I was studying them looking for highlights of Spanish-Jewish culinary heritage. That was how I discovered what is probably the first recipe for mufleta, also sometimes called mofletta, a pastry prepared by Moroccan Jews on Mimouna, the festive celebration marking the end of Passover.

Featured in: Making Mufleta, History’s Oldest Jewish Pastry, for the Holidays

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 0.18 ounce fresh yeast
  • 1cup extra fine semolina
  • 2¾ cups flour
  • 1teaspoon salt
  • cup water to dissolve the yeast
  • 1egg
  • 1/8cup sugar
  • 1cup water
  • Neutral oil for frying
  • Sugar to sprinkle

For the Drizzle

  • 1cup honey
  • ½ cup butter

For the Apple and Date Mixture

  • 2cups water
  • 1cinnamon stick
  • 5apples cut into very thin strips
  • 10dates cut into small pieces
Yield: 4-6 servings

Preparation

To make dough

  • Step 1

    Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water

  • Step 2

    In a bowl mix all the ingredients of the dough then add last the dissolved yeast

  • Step 3

    Mix to food processor for 5 minutes at medium speed

To make drizzle

  • Step 1

    Melt the butter in the honey over low heat

To make Apple and Date Mixture

  • Step 1

    Peel the apples and cut them into thin strips

  • Step 2

    Boil water with cinnamon

  • Step 3

    Add the apple slices and allow them to cook for 7 minutes

  • Step 4

    Drain the apples and put them aside

  • Step 5

    Chop the dates into small cubes and set aside

To make the Mufletas

  • Step 1

    Heat the neutral oil in a frying pan

  • Step 2

    Take a piece of dough (like a Ping-Pong ball) and spread it in a thin circle about 7 inches in diameter

  • Step 3

    Place this dough circle in the oil and cook for 2 minutes

  • Step 4

    Return it to the pan and immediately cover with apple slices, 1 spoonful of dates, and 2 teaspoons sugar. Lay over another circle of dough. Press lightly and return the stack to the pan.

    Add 2 teaspoons of water with cinnamon used to cook the apples.

  • Step 5

    Top with a layer of apple slices and 1 spoonful of dates, sprinkle with sugar. Add a new dough circle, press lightly and return to the frying pan. Add 2 teaspoons of water and cinnamon used to cook the apples.

  • Step 6

    Add a little oil if necessary.

  • Step 7

    Continue in the same way until the ingredients are exhausted.

  • Step 8

    For the last dough circle, sprinkle sugar on top before returning it to the pan.

  • Step 9

    When finished, put the dish on a plate.

    10. Make a hole in the center of the tower with a baguette (optional) and pour in the melted butter and hot honey.