Kaak d'Oujda (كعك وجدة)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large gsaa or wide mixing bowl
• •Mortar and pestle
• •Kaak cutter, nakkach, or small kitchen scissors
• •Two rimmed baking sheets
• •Wire rack
• •Airtight metal biscuit tin

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the seeds

   Toast the sesame in a dry pan just until it smells nutty and turns a shade deeper, then tip it out at once. Lightly crush the anise and fennel between your palms or in a mortar. Don't grind them to dust; the little seeds should still show in the biscuit and release their perfume when you bite.

2. 2

   Rub the dough

   In a wide bowl, mix the flour, sugar, sesame, anise, fennel, baking powder, yeast, salt, and pounded meska horra if using. Pour in the oil and melted butter, then rub everything through your fingers until the flour feels like damp sand. This matters: the fat coats the flour first, so the kaak breaks cleanly under the teeth instead of eating like bread.

   If the meska horra is in hard tears, pound it with a spoonful of sugar before it touches the flour. Otherwise it clumps and one biscuit gets all the perfume.
3. 3

   Add flower water

   Pour in the orange blossom water, then add warm water little by little, mixing with your hand until a firm dough gathers. Knead for 5 to 7 minutes, only until smooth and pliable. The dough should feel firm but not dry, soft enough to roll without splitting, strong enough to hold a cut. La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes, because each flour drinks differently.

4. 4

   Rest the dough

   Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is not a big bread rise; it is time for the flour to drink and the dough to relax. If you rush it, the cords fight your hands and the rings crack where they should bend.

5. 5

   Shape the rings

   Heat the oven to 180C or 350F and line baking sheets with parchment. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll each one into a cord about 14cm long and as thick as your little finger. Join the ends firmly, pressing the seam closed, then set the seam underneath. With a kaak cutter, nakkach, or small scissors, nick the outside edge all around to make the dentelled border.

6. 6

   Brush and bake

   Set the rings on the trays with a little room between them. Brush lightly with the egg yolk and milk, not so much that the cuts fill in. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes, rotating the tray once, until the kaak is pale gold on top and a little deeper underneath. Take them out before they go dark; the anise should stay fragrant, not bitter.

7. 7

   Cool and keep

   Cool the kaak completely on a rack before storing. Warm biscuits in a closed tin soften from their own trapped moisture, and we made them to keep their bite. Serve with mint tea, coffee, or a glass of milk for children, and put the tin back on the table when one more hand reaches.

Chef Tips

• •Use true orange blossom water, not a bottle that smells like bathroom perfume. If the scent is harsh before baking, it will be harsh after baking.
• •The dough must be firm enough to hold the dentelled edge. Add water slowly, stop before it turns sticky, and trust your hands.
• •Some Oujdi families lean heavier on fennel, others on anise. Keep the grammar the same: sesame, aniseed warmth, orange blossom, and a dry biscuit made to last.
• •If you skip the egg wash, the kaak will be more matte and paler. That is acceptable at home, but brush lightly if you want the old Eid tin look.
• •Store only when fully cold. In a well-sealed metal tin, kaak keeps for 2 to 3 weeks and tastes even better after the first day.

Advance Preparation

• •Toast the sesame and crush the anise and fennel up to 3 days ahead; keep them covered so the scent stays with you.
• •Bake the kaak 1 to 3 days before Eid or a celebration. They settle beautifully in the tin and are ready when guests arrive.
• •The baked biscuits freeze well for up to 2 months. Thaw uncovered, then return them to a tin once fully dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 43g)