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Mahjouba is a traditional flatbread that is one of the most popular street food items in the country. These thick and flaky crepe-like flatbreads are made with semolina, then filled with a combination of tomatoes and caramelized onions. Mahjouba is often paired with harissa sauce on the side, but the condiment is completely optional.
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M'semen is a traditional Maghrebi flatbread made with a combination of flour, semolina, sugar, salt, yeast, warm water, oil, and clarified butter. The dough is kneaded until it becomes smooth, and pieces of it are then flattened and shaped into squares.
Once the dough has been folded and shaped, it is cooked on a griddle or fried in a pan until it becomes crispy on the exterior and chewy on the inside. Although m'semen is traditionally consumed on its own as an accompaniment to coffee or tea, it can also be stuffed with various meats and vegetables.
MOST ICONIC M'semen
Bazin is a popular Libyan unleavened bread (also considered a dough-based dish) made by boiling barley flour and salt in water and beating it with a stick called magraf until it develops into a dough which is then baked or steamed. The bread is characterized by its hard texture, achieved by the usage of large amounts of salt.
It is traditionally shared and consumed using the right hand. Bazin is often served with a tomato-based stew, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and mutton.
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Kesra or khobz f'tir is a traditional flatbread that is used as a daily bread. The dough consists of semolina, oil, salt, and water, and typically contains no yeast. Unlike the similar khobz el dar, kesra is not baked, but cooked on a tagine or on the stove.
It is recommended to pair kesra with an Algerian chicken and freekeh soup called chorba.
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Batbout is a traditional flatbread originating from Morocco. The bread is usually made with a combination of wheat flour, semolina, yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil or vegetable oil. The dough is shaped into balls that are left to rest and rolled into thin rounds.
The bread is baked in a large pan or on a griddle on both sides until the air bubbles begin to appear on the surface. This puffy and chewy flatbread is then left to cool before consumption. Batbout is typically served as an accompaniment to grilled meat, but it can also be served for breakfast with jam, butter, or honey.
Harsha is a popular Moroccan bread that is usually made with a combination of semolina, sugar, butter, milk, baking powder, and salt. It is traditionally fried in a pan until it develops a soft, crumbly texture. Most Moroccans prepare it for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, serving it with butter, honey, or cheese.
It is recommended to pair harsha with a cup of hot Moroccan tea.
MOST ICONIC Harsha
Khobz is a traditional bread that is shaped into round, flat loaves and baked in an oven until it develops a crispy crust. It can be made with different types of flour such as wheat, bran, barley, and semolina. Some bakers like to add anise, nigella, or cumin in order to enhance its flavors.
The bread often replaces utensils and is used to scoop up sauces, dips, meat, and vegetables in numerous Moroccan dishes.
Berber pizza or khobza medfouna is a traditional dish originating from Morocco, and it is believed that its true birthplace is Rissani, a small oasis town near the northwest edge of Sahara. Although it's called a pizza, this is more of a stuffed flatbread that's similar to calzone or stromboli.
The flatbread dough is stuffed with beef or lamb, diced onions, and various spices, and it's then baked in a fire pit until done, while many restaurants and local Berbers cook it in a mud oven. Fried almonds and hard-boiled eggs are welcome, but optional additions.
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Khobz el dar is an Algerian and Moroccan bread that requires no kneading. It consists of semolina, salt, sugar, yeast, oil, eggs, milk, and optional sesame seeds for decoration. Once it has been baked, the bread develops a soft and tender texture and a slightly sweet flavor.
This bread can be found it almost every household in Algeria, hence its name, which translates to bread of the house.
These traditional Moroccan bread rolls are prepared with a yeasted, brioche-like dough that is enriched with aniseed. They also incorporate toasted sesame seeds and are usually flavored with orange blossom water. Before baking, krachel are brushed with egg wash, while the top is sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or pearl sugar.
The buns can be enjoyed plain, but they are also commonly served with cheese and savory or sweet spreads such as butter, jams, or chocolate spreads. They perfectly pair with coffee or tea.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 14 Maghrebi Breads” list until February 13, 2025, 1,722 ratings were recorded, of which 312 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.