Name: Moroccan Krachel (Brioche Sweet Rolls)
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 1 cup warm milk; 1 tbsp active dry yeast; ½ cup white granulated sugar; 1 egg for the dough + 1 egg for the egg wash; ¼ cup butter, melted; 2 tbsp orange blossom water; 1 tbsp anise seeds; 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; 4 cups all purpose flour; 1 tsp salt

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Today we are making Krachel, also known as Moroccan sweet rolls. This brioche style bread pulls Moroccan flavor from anise seeds, orange blossom water, and a sesame seed topping. These rolls are traditionally served with Moroccan mint tea and make a delicious breakfast, snack or side.

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Many Moroccan recipes are usually accompanied by bread of some sort, whether it's these delicious sweet rolls or the more commonly found, flatter bread, aka khobz.

Both kinds of bread are perfect for scooping up all of the delicious sauces, meat, and veggies in traditional Moroccan tagines and salads.

Grocery List

Here is what you will need to make krachel:

warm milk
active dry yeast
white granulated sugar
eggs for the dough + egg wash
butter, melted
orange blossom water
anise seeds
toasted sesame seeds
all purpose flour
salt

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Moroccan Sweet Rolls

Bloom the yeast. Warm the milk in a saucepan or microwave. Combine warm milk, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir gently. Bloom for 5 minutes.

Make the dough. Add the egg, melted butter, orange blossom water, anise seeds, sesame seeds, flour, and salt. Knead until the dough becomes consistent in texture throughout, around 10 minutes.

Tip: Using a stand mixer with a hook attachment will cut the knead time significantly.

Let the dough rise. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

Divide the dough and let rise again. Punch the dough down to release any bubbles then transfer to a clean surface. Divide the dough into eighths, roll each section into small balls and set on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise another 30 minutes.

Did you know? Punching the dough down helps by releasing bubbles in the dough and by redistributing the yeast and sugar throughout the dough!

Bake the krachel. Preheat the oven to 350. While the oven comes to temp, brush the rolls with a beaten egg. Sprinkle additional toasted sesame seeds on top and bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Variations

Giving the visitor ideas on how they can change this recipe to better suit their dinner guests, or their cultural cuisine, is a great way to increase the chances they make the recipe

No sesame seeds - you can easily skip the sesame seeds in the dough and/or on top of the sweet rolls. While they definitely add that Moroccan flavor, the dough will still turn out great.
No anise seeds - I know anise seeds can be an acquired taste, so feel free to leave them out, or use fennel seeds or ground anise as a substitute if you're not into them.
Orange blossom water - I don't recommend skipping the orange blossom water as it lends a beautifully subtle sweet Moroccan flavor to these rolls, but again, they will turn out just fine without this ingredient. If you love this stuff like my family does, you can also add a teaspoon to your beaten egg and brush it on top of the rolls before baking.

What to Eat with Krachel

If you're familiar with Moroccan cuisine, you know that bread goes with pretty much every meal.

This krachel is a wonderful pairing with many traditional dishes, but here are a few of my favorite recipes to pair it with:

Moroccan Mint Tea - Tea time is a lifestyle in our culture and it's almost always served with an assortment of pastries, bread, and cookies.
Horn de Gazelle (Almond Cookies) - Since we're on the topic of cookies... these traditional almond cookies make a delicious addition to that tea time spread.
With butter, jam, honey - Anything you like with brioche bread will pair beautifully with these Moroccan sweet rolls, the sky is the limit!
Chicken Tagine - It wouldn't be Moroccan bread without a tagine or two, and I really enjoy using this sweeter, brioche style bread with a savory meal to scoop up all of the sauce.

Equipment

While you don't need a stand mixer to make this recipe, it certainly will help cut the knead time in half. Just make sure to use the hook attachment on a slow setting.

I like to get a good arm work out in (plus I'm cheap and don't have room in my kitchen for another kitchen appliance) and find kneading dough to be surprisingly therapeutic.

Storage

These rolls keep great in a bread basket or in the fridge for up to 1 week. They also freeze and thaw out really well when kept in an air tight bag.

Bismillah,