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Batbout is a flavorful, chewy Moroccan bread that cooks with a pocket just like pita bread. Rather than being baked in the oven like Middle Eastern pita, batbout is cooked on the stove in a pan or on a griddle, where it takes just a minute or two to brown and puff up with its trademark pocket.
While that pocket makes it perfect for sandwich fillers of all kinds, batbout also works well as an accompaniment to grilled meats such as kefta or boulfaf. It's also terrific as a breakfast bread with butter, honey, jam, cream cheese or even chocolate spread.
Other Names for Batbout
Batbout is also known by other names such as mkhamer, toghrift and matlou'. The term mkhamer is worth giving special attention to as it's used differently by region or family.
For some, mkhamer is simply batbout as shown in the photo above; for others, mkhamer is batbout which has been cooked on an oiled pan as opposed to a dry one. In addition, some Moroccans might use mkhamer to describe a similar yet laminated stovetop bread; while others use the term in reference to a thick batbout (without a pocket) that is served with butter and honey.
As batbout can be made ahead of time and freezes well, you may want to get in the habit of making extra-large batches.
You can vary the ratio of flours a bit—I often use a mix of white, semolina and whole wheat— but do try to keep white flour to no more than half of the total quantity used or your dough and end result might be gummy.
Durum flour or fine semolina is essential to batbout's classic texture and flavor. My recipe calls for a little oil in the dough; many Moroccans make it without, but I find it helps avoid a dry bread that won't hold up to stuffing.
Batbout can be shaped as small or as large as you like, and to some degree, with varying degrees of thickness. In Ramadan, for example, it's common to find the bread as tiny as two inches (five centimeters) in diameter; they get stuffed and presented on the table as bite-sized sandwiches.
If you don't own a double griddle, consider investing in one as it makes short work of cooking batbout or other pan-fried breads such as msemen, meloui, or harcha.
