Desserts
ChefLoubna Fawaz
How to Make Ma'arouk
Ma'arouk — you’ve probably heard of it in Levantine dramas. Its name is tied to traditional, popular cuisine. Read the recipe and you’ll be excited to make it — delicious.
Ma'arouk... a Levantine pastry closely tied to culinary heritage — a beloved traditional treat.
Ingredients
Start here, then move straight into the method.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
- 1/2 cup water
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup to taste)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or 30 ml)
- 1/2 teaspoon mahleb
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds (optional)
- Topping
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Nigella seeds (black seed)
- A little milk to brush the surface of the ma'arouk
- Syrup (qater) or honey diluted with water to glaze the ma'arouk (with a pinch of desiccated coconut — optional)
- To make Umm Taha’s delicious almond croissant, click the link Almond Delight (Almond Croissant)
Method
Follow the cooking sequence without leaving the page.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, mahlab, spices, and a pinch of salt, and mix them by hand until uniform.
- In another bowl, combine the milk, water, sugar, and yeast, and stir them with a wooden spoon.
- Take half a cup of the milk mixture and add it to the flour mixture in the first bowl, whisk it, then add another half cup and whisk until the mixture thickens; then use your hands to knead until you have a dough.
- Finally add the oil to soften the dough, and knead well.
- Grease a bowl with oil, place the Ma'arouk dough inside, grease the surface as well, and cover well to rise for one hour or until it doubles in size.
- On a clean board, roll the dough slightly after sprinkling with flour to make it easier to roll; do not leave it thicker than 1 cm, for example.
- Grease a baking tray with oil, place the Ma'arouk on it, brush the top with milk, and sprinkle with toasted sesame and nigella seeds (black seed).
- Place the tray in the oven on the top rack, then put a pot of boiling water on the bottom rack and close the oven without turning it on so the dough can proof with steam for about half an hour.
- After the time has passed, remove the pot of water and turn the oven on to 200°C after placing the tray on the middle rack.
- Leave it for about ten minutes or until the top turns golden.
- Brush the top of the Ma'arouk with syrup or honey diluted with water, and sprinkle with shredded coconut (optional).
- Umm Taha Al-Hamwi
- To make Umm Taha's delicious almond croissant, click the link: Almond Halawa or Almond Croissant
Recipe tags
DessertsLevantVegetarianNut freeEgg free
Notes and serving ideas
- Almond Delight (Almond Croissant)
