Nomad bread, baked in the sand

At the desert camp, there is one moment travelers never forget: when a big golden flatbread, still steaming, comes out of the sand. This is nomad bread, baked without an oven, under the sand and embers.

Bread without an oven

There are no ovens in the desert. So caravans and nomad families learned to bake bread right in the hot sand, under the embers. With a little flour, water and salt, you have filling bread wherever you can make a fire.

The dough

The dough is very simple: flour, water, salt. Some families add a little yeast. It is kneaded, then flattened into a large thick round.

The baking

1. Make a good wood fire on the sand until you have embers.
2. Push the embers aside: the sand underneath is burning hot.
3. Lay the dough on the hot sand, then cover it with sand and embers.
4. After a while, turn it over to bake the other side.
5. Take it out, tap it and brush it to remove the sand. Only a golden crust remains.

And the taste?

The crust is crunchy, with a light wood-fire flavor. The inside stays soft. It is eaten hot, with tagine, with a little olive oil, or simply with mint tea.

Elsewhere in the south, the dough is stuffed with meat, onions and spices before baking: that is madfouna, well known around Rissani.

Where to taste it

During a night at the desert camp or a camel trek, we make the bread at camp, in front of you. You can even get your hands in the dough.

Your questions

— Mustapha, Caravane Mustapha, Zagora