Mafuna (مفنة)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Baking stone, baking steel, or heavy covered cast-iron pot
• •Clean cloth for covering dough
• •Sharp lame or small knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the leaven

   Make sure the beldi yeast is at its peak before you begin: domed, bubbly, and lightly sour, not flat or sharp. Stir it with the lukewarm water until cloudy. This is the one thing that decides the bread. A living leaven gives Mafuna its tang and strength; a tired one gives you heaviness.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   In a wide bowl, mix the bread flour and fine semolina. Pour in the leaven water and gather the dough with your hand until no dry flour remains. Let it sit 20 minutes, then add the salt and olive oil and knead 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough feels elastic and slightly tacky. If it tears dry, wet your hand and keep working. La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes.

3. 3

   First rise

   Oil the bowl lightly, tuck the dough into a smooth round, cover it, and let it rise 4 to 6 hours at room temperature, until it has grown by about half and feels airy under your fingers. It does not need to puff like a sweet bread. Mafuna keeps a dense, chewy heart, so look for life, not ballooning.

   If your kitchen is cold, give it more time. Wild yeast follows the room, not your impatience.
4. 4

   Shape the loaves

   Dust the work surface with coarse semolina and divide the dough in two. Shape each piece into a tight round, then press gently into a thick disk about 3cm high. Set the loaves on semolina-dusted parchment or a floured cloth. Keep the shape sturdy. This bread is not thin griddle bread; it needs thickness for that chewy crumb.

5. 5

   Second rise

   Cover the shaped loaves and let them rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the dough looks relaxed and springs back slowly when pressed. Heat the oven during the last 45 minutes to 240°C with a baking stone, steel, or heavy covered pot inside. In the ferran, the hand reads the heat; at home, a long preheat gives the stone the same job.

6. 6

   Score and seed

   Brush the tops lightly with water, scatter sesame seeds and nigella or anise if using, then score each loaf with a shallow cross or three short slashes. The scoring gives the dough a place to open cleanly in the heat, so the crust doesn't split wherever it wants.

7. 7

   Bake hot

   Slide the loaves onto the hot stone, or place one loaf at a time into the hot covered pot. Bake covered for 18 minutes, then uncover and bake 12 to 17 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden, firm under your knuckles, and the bottom sounds hollow. The covered start gives the loaf its lift; the uncovered finish makes the crust strong enough to scoop sauce clean.

8. 8

   Rest and tear

   Let the loaves rest on a rack at least 30 minutes before tearing. The crumb finishes setting as it cools, and if you open it too early it turns gummy. Serve warm or at room temperature, with olive oil, olives, cheese, honey, or beside a tagine.

Chef Tips

• •Use strong, fresh flour. Old flour tastes flat, and with a bread this plain, the grain has nowhere to hide.
• •If you don't keep beldi yeast, use a mature sourdough starter fed with wheat flour. Say the truth: it is a home bridge, not the village ferran.
• •Do not rush the two rises. The sour tang and chewy crumb come from time, not extra yeast.
• •Bake hotter than you think at the start. Mafuna needs that first force of heat to set the crust and lift the loaf.

Advance Preparation

• •Feed the beldi yeast starter 6 to 8 hours before mixing, so it is lively and domed when you need it.
• •For more tang, refrigerate the dough after the first rise for 8 to 12 hours, then shape it cold and give it a full second rise before baking.
• •Baked Mafuna keeps 2 days wrapped in a cloth. Rewarm it in a low oven, then tear it at the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 570g)