Breaking Bread

“Would you like to see how we make the bread?” our guide asked.

I scurried up the small hill behind the cafe to witness the labour of love for making bread in Morocco. Attentive to the task, the woman spun the dough in a slow and constant movement to ensure even baking in outdoor, dome-shaped, clay oven.

In Morocco, bread is served at every meal, but the most common type is a round flat loaf called Khobz in Arabic and Kessra in Berber. It’s still commonly cooked in traditional wood burning stoves in rural areas, and in the cities families will bring their uncooked dough to the communal wood burning oven, and that’s what gives this bread its unique character.

Fresh bread out of the oven by any method is one of my favourite foods, and with a seemingly unlimited option for accompaniments such as tajine, argan oil or fig jam, I wasn’t disappointed.

My favourite way to eat this bread was in the stuffed sandwiches found in the Fes medina. Available options included french fries, diced tomatoes, fried aubergine, fish and mystery meat, all pressed into the bread by the loving thumbs of the sandwich vendor, sprinkled with cumin and drizzled with a red sauce.

Bread is one of the world’s most basic foods and oldest recipes. It’s shared daily by friends and families and breaking bread with others is a long-time symbol of our exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings.

Images: Lucinda Brooks Photography