Msemen with Honey & Fromage Frais

📝 Ingredients

• 200 g plain flour
• 80 g fine semolina (50 g for the dough, 30 g for the layering)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 160 ml lukewarm water
• 3 tbsp olive oil (2 for the layering, 1 for cooking)
• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp orange blossom water
• 500 g fromage frais, 3% fat

🍴 Utensils

• Mixing bowl
• Large non-stick frying pan (28 cm)
• Pastry brush
• Clean tea towel
• Spatula
• Small bowl

📖 Steps

1. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, 50 g semolina, the salt and the sugar. Gradually pour in the lukewarm water, mixing with your hand, until you have a soft dough that comes away from the sides. If it stays dry and crumbly, add 1 to 2 tbsp water.
2. Knead on the work surface for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is very smooth and elastic: when pressed with a finger, it should spring back. This long kneading lets you stretch it very thinly later without it tearing.
3. Divide the dough into 8 equal balls of about 50 g. Coat them with a little oil, taken from the 2 tbsp for the layering, cover with the tea towel and leave to rest for 15 minutes: the dough relaxes and is much easier to spread out.
4. Lightly oil the work surface and your hands. Flatten a ball with your fingertips, then stretch it from the centre outwards into a very thin, almost transparent disc about 25 cm across. A few small holes don't matter.
5. Brush the disc with a thin film of oil and sprinkle with half a teaspoon of semolina. Fold the top third into the centre, then the bottom third over it. Oil, sprinkle with the same amount of semolina, then fold in both sides the same way to make a square about 8 cm wide.
6. Repeat with the remaining balls, placing the squares on an oiled plate. Just before cooking, flatten each square with the palm of your hand to about 12 cm across, without pressing too hard so you keep the flaky layers.
7. Heat the frying pan over medium heat with a little of the cooking oil. Cook the msemen two at a time, 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning them with a spatula, until golden, crisp and speckled with brown. Keep them warm under the tea towel as you go.
8. In the small bowl, mix the honey and orange blossom water (warm for 10 seconds in the microwave if the honey is thick). Serve 2 hot msemen per person, drizzled with the scented honey, with 125 g fromage frais on the side for spreading or dipping.