Rifat (ريفات)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rolling pin
• •Pastry wheel or sharp knife
• •Baking sheets
• •Cooling rack
• •Airtight biscuit tin

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dry

   Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, crushed anise, and sesame in a wide bowl. Crush the anise just enough to wake it up, not to powder it. You want little seeds in the biscuit, because they release their perfume as you bite.

2. 2

   Make the dough

   In a second bowl, beat the oil, orange juice, egg, orange zest, and orange blossom water if using. Pour this into the flour and mix with your hand until a soft dough gathers. Knead only until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Too much kneading builds strength, and strength is what makes these bake like bread.

   If the dough feels sticky, dust in flour a spoonful at a time. If it cracks badly, wet your fingers with orange juice and work it in lightly. La balance est dans les yeux (the scale is in the eyes).
3. 3

   Rest it

   Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes. This short rest lets the flour drink the liquid and makes rolling easier. Don't skip it, or you'll fight the dough and make the biscuits thicker than they should be.

4. 4

   Roll very thin

   Heat the oven to 180 C. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and keep the unused pieces covered. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece as thin as you can manage, about 2 mm. This is the rule that decides the dish: roll fine, or the rifat will rise soft in the middle instead of baking crisp.

5. 5

   Cut and prick

   Cut the dough into diamonds, rectangles, or long strips with a pastry wheel or knife. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving a little space between them. Prick each biscuit several times with a fork so trapped air can escape and the surface stays flat.

6. 6

   Bake pale gold

   Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, turning the tray once, until the biscuits are dry, firm, and pale gold around the edges. They should not go dark. Let them cool completely on a rack, because they finish crisping as they cool.

7. 7

   Serve and keep

   Serve with mint tea, coffee, or a small digestif after a celebration meal. Once fully cool, store in an airtight tin. If they soften after a few days, refresh them for 5 minutes in a low oven, then cool again.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh anise seeds. If they smell dusty in the jar, they will taste dusty in the biscuit.
• •Fresh orange juice matters here because there are so few ingredients. Sourcing comes before technique.
• •Roll the scraps once, not three times. Overworked scraps bake tougher and thicker.
• •Bake one test biscuit if your first sheet is uneven. If it puffs and stays soft, roll the next batch thinner and prick more firmly.

Advance Preparation

• •Rifat keep well for 10 to 14 days in an airtight tin once fully cooled.
• •The dough can rest, covered, for up to 4 hours at cool room temperature, but the biscuits are best rolled and baked the same day.
• •For a celebration, bake them a day or two ahead. Their crispness settles and the anise becomes rounder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 19g)