This Matloua or Thamthoot is made with flour only. You can cook the Matloua on the stove or bake it in the oven.
๐ฉ๐ฟ Algerian Traditional Flour Bread called Matloua or Thamthoot
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour plus more to roll out the dough
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp dry active yeast
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- Olive oil as needed
Instructions
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, put 1 cup flour.
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Add yeast, sugar and 1 cup warm water.
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Mix everything with a spoon or a whisk.
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Cover the bowl with kitchen towel and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
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Add the 3 cups remaining flour.
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Add vegetable oil, salt then add the cup of water gradually while mixing (using a stand mixer with a hook attachment).
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Knead for about 5 minutes on low.
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Cover the dough with plastic wrap and kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in volume.
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Grease your hands with olive oil (or vegetable oil).
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Deflate the dough and dump it on a working board.
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Try to lift the dough up then down to get some air in it. You may need to grease your hands with oil from time to time. Keep doing that for about a minute.
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Divide the dough into balls (your choice of size).
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Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
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Sprinkle some flour on the parchment paper and roll out few balls of dough (if they are small) into thin circles. These are the Matloua that will be baked.
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Cover with kitchen towel and let rise again.
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For the Matloua that will be cooked on the stove, just roll out each ball into a thin circle on an individual sheet of parchment paper. Make sure to sprinkle a little flour on parchment paper and on top of the Matloua.
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Cover with kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in volume.
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To bake some of this bread, preheat oven to 425ยฐF. Bake the Matloua for about 15 to 20 minutes( depending on your oven). You may need to place under the broiler in the last 2 minutes of baking.
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To cook some of the bread on the stove, just put a griddle on medium heat.
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Place the Matloua with parchment paper on the griddle.
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Reduce heat to medium low.
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Once the bottom of Matloua sets, slide or remove parchment paper.
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Cook the bread in both sides.
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Brush the bread sides with olive oil and cook the sides.
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Brush the Matloua (the baked and the one that was cooked on the stove) with olive oil in both sides after cooking.
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Let cool a little bit before cutting.
Recipe Notes
- The baked Matloua cook fast. If you stick a knife and it comes out clean after 15 minutes of baking, then just place it under the broiler to have that golden color.
- At first, the baked Matloua may look hard on top, No worries, just brush it with olive oil (or your choice of oil or butter).
- If you donโt have time to cook the Matloua on the stove (it needs time and patience), just bake your Matloua in the oven, itโs quick!
- For the ย Matloua that you cook on the stove, make sure you cook it on medium low. You only increase the heat to medium when you cook the sides.