For this month’s foodblogswap we were assigned to cook something from the blog of Ellouisa. We went for one of her Moroccan dishes, namely a mhancha bread with chicken.
Ingredients
- 450 gram flour
- 1 sachet dry yeast (7 gram)
- Large pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 250 ml lukewarm milk
- About 3 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 500 gram chicken breast
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 leek
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon powdered garlic
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- Salt and pepper to liking
- 1 egg yolk
- Small handful grated cheese
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
Kitchen equipment needed
- Electric mixer, or knead the dough by hand
- Small bowl
- Medium-sized skillet
- Rolling pin
- Round baking tin (for example a round spring form)
- Silicone brush
- Oven
- Chefs knife
- Cutting board
- Kitchen cloth
Preparation — 20 minutes + waiting time
MIX half of the lukewarm milk with the yeast and sugar, leave for 5 minutes until foamy. MEANWHILE mix flour with salt, then add in sunflower oil. SLOWLY add the remaining lukewarm milk while mixing. ADD the yeast (when foamy) together with the lukewarm water. You’ll soon notice how much water the dough needs. The dough ball should not be sticky. ADD the dough ball into a large bowl and cover with a damp and warm kitchen cloth. LET the dough rise for about an hour, or until the dough has been doubled in size.
PREPARE the filling while the dough is rising. REMOVE seeds from the red bell pepper, then slice into small cubes. REMOVE excess grease and fat from the chicken breasts, then slice into small cubes. WASH the leek and slice into small pieces.
HEAT up olive oil in a medium-sized skillet and bake the diced chicken and red bell pepper for a few minutes. ADD in leek, smoked paprika powder, powdered garlic and powdered ginger. SEASON with salt and pepper, cook for another few minutes. LET cool off completely.
Finishing up the mhancha bread with chicken — 40 minutes
PRE-HEAT the oven to a temperature of 200 degrees celsius or 390 degrees fahrenheit.
DUST the kitchen counter with some flour and roll out the dough into a rectangle. SLICE into 6 strips over the entire length. SLIGHTLY flatten each strip separately. PLACE 1/6th of the filling in a row on top of the dough, make sure to leave the edges free of filling. REPEAT this step for the other 5 strips. PRESS the edges of the strips inwards to create a “snake”. ROLL up the “snake”, start from the middle into the round baking tray with the seams downwards.
BECAUSE the ends are free of filling, you can easily attach the ends. COVER the dough again using the damp warm kitchen cloth. LEAVE the dough to rise for another 15 minutes.
WHISK the yolk with some milk and brush the rolls with it. SPRINKLE some chili flakes and grated cheese on top of the bread rolls. BAKE the mhancha in about 30 minutes golden-brown, depending on how powerful your oven is.
Enjoy your dinner!
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