The Fresh Loaf

News & Information for Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts


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ngolovin's picture

Maple syrup in breads

December 20, 2012 - 8:04pm -- ngolovin

Hi all,

I have been baking breads for a while.  I have seen all sorts of sweeteners used in breads such as honey, molasses, agave, brown and regular sugar.  I do not have a recipe with maple syrup.  I made this comment, while munching on my latest loaf, to my wife and was asked why.  That is a good question, so I thought I would pose this question to the forum.  Why isn't there a recipe that uses maple syrup as the sweetener in a bread?  If there is, please let me know where I can find the recipe.  I thank you all, in advance.

Happy Holidays!

dabrownman's picture










The formula follows the pictures.














Multi grain SD Starter - 25% Whole Grain Sourdough Boule     
Mixed StarterBuild 1Build 2 Build 3Total%
Multi-grain SD Starter **4500459.54%
Dark Rye1500154.24%
Total Starter135502521059.32%
Levain % of Total25.12%    
Dough Flour      %   
Non - Diastatic Red  Malt20.56%   
Wheat Germ102.82%   
Dark Rye102.82%   
Spelt 102.82%   
Ground Flax Seed102.82%   
Diastatic White Malt20.56%   
Bread Flour10028.25%   
Dough Flour354100.00%   
Water 26073.45%   
Dough Hydration73.45%    
Total Flour471.5    
T. Dough Hydration74.76%    
Whole Grain %25.77%    
Hydration w/ Adds75.29%    
Total Weight836    



Felila's picture

Picking the ants out of the honey

August 7, 2012 - 4:59pm -- Felila

I bought a large jar of honey at Costco, much larger than the small jars of artisanal honey I was buying at my food co-op. I used to store my honey atop the microwave. Never had problems with ants, probably because the artisanal honey was put up in canning jars with tight lids. 

The Costco honey came in a cheaper jar that let ants get into the honey, even though the lid was screwed on. They were teeny tiny ants. Thousands of the buggahs!

mamatkamal's picture

 Since I was young I've always been intrigued by these sesame/honey cookies, called in Morocco "Chebakia", not only for their beautiful flower shape but also because they are surprisingly delicious sweet treats and I love all the flavours in them!  Chebakia is one of the luxurious, tasteful, traditional and special occasion sweet, served without fail on Moroccan Ramadan table with Harira on Ftour (Iftar) meal.  However; in some regions in Morocco, chebakia is also served at wedding ceremonies and other special feasts.  Traditionally, few days before Ramadan, the whole family usually gets together to make large numbers of these cookies, which are customarily shaped like a rose, symbolizing "Respect and Love".  

Because of chebakia popularity and its cultural significance in Morocco, this has made these sesame/honey cookies synonymous with Ramadan. In fact, no Moroccan Ramadan is complete without chebakia, which can be bought almost anywhere in the street.  My Mother taught me how to make chabakiya when I was a kid, and I remember she used to talk about how tricky making those cookies were, and how her chebakia  would never taste like her mother's even if she used to make the best chabakiya I've ever tasted!  So last weekend, I decided to make those little cookies, and they brought me back as little kid again. They made me think of my mother and where I come from.  When I prepare chebakia, I always have those wonderful memories, and so will my lovely boys, one day! 

Chabakiya or Chbakia [S H A B A K E E Y A}  = الشّباكيّة, (also spelled Chebbakiya and Shebakia) is a general term for Moroccan traditional sweet sort of fried flower dessert, and which was originally considered as a confectionery Halwa [H A L W A} =حْلْوَة, which means "Cake" because of its sweet taste and flower crispy biscuit shape. It will sound odd for some of my blog followers; "A fried cookie? Come on, really?". Yes, indeed, it is a fried, chewy and sticky cookie that, strangely enough, goes so well with HariraBUT NOT tea or coffee! The sweetness of Chabakiya is intended to offset the sour yet soft, touch of the national soup, called Harira. Give me one chebakia and a bowl of Harira any day, any time and I’d be a happy woman! . 

Chabakiya is made with ingredients, very common in Moroccan Cuisine, such as sesame seeds, almonds, aniseeds, cinnamon, gum arabic, orange flower water, honey, yeast etc.... The dough is made by kneading wheat or white flour or mixture of both, with all the ingredients and mixed together, then flattened and cut into squares using a special Chebakia mold to cut the dough, then fried in oil and submerged in sweet honey syrup (usually orange flower water flavoured).   The result is a declicious, sticky, sweet and slightly chewy cookie  that looks like flower almost, and that tastes a little bit like a spicy, crispy, savory Fekkas, and a little bit like a hot glazed, sweet Almond/Honey Breewat. Both the flavour combination and the texture of chabakiya is amazing! 

Chabakiya is a little time-consuming but well worth the effort. It's also endlessly adaptable, substitute more modern ingredients for different flavours, use corn or ginger or orange syrup instead of honey, so chabakiya is more sticky and shiny. If you don't like sesame seeds or almonds,  replace them  for hazelnuts or pine nuts or peanuts or pistachio or linseeds etc....  which will change the flavour quite a bit, but they will taste great!  Don’t be intimidated by shaping technique of chabakiya, it is quite easy to make, and in fact you can create any shape you like! When making chabakiya, make sure not to overwork the dough (generally, 7 to 10 minutes seems reasonable).  This detail is very important, since gluten development, resulting from overworking the Chabakia dough, will make it tough when cooked. It is also important to maintain the temperature of the frying oil because if the temperature is too high or if you overcook them, chabakiya will be too hard and if the temperature is too low, or you undercook them, the resulting chabakiya will be too pale, very greasy and unappealing.  Note that chebakia will continue to colour slightly a few minutes after removed from the oil, so you will need to be careful when removing them. 


1-In Fes and some other regions as Rabat, Salé etc.., this same chabakiya is called Mkhar9a (also spelled Mkharqua or Mkharka = المْخَرْقَة ).

2-Whereas in Wajda (Oujda - East of Morocco) and also some parts in Fes, it is called Griwech or Griwesh or Griwchat =كريوْشْ 

3-In Agadir (South of Morocco), they have a special version of Chabakiya, called Bouchnikha = بوشْنيخَة ou Chebakiya Khyout (5yout) = الشّْبّاكيّة خْيُوطْ .

Below shows the photo of Bouchnikha, Agadir's version of Chabakia, by  Meriya (CLICK HERE FOR MERIYA'S BLOG)

4-There are several different shapes of chabakiya, the most popular one is Chabakiya Blighat or Baboush = الشّْبّاكِيّة بْليغاتْ, which has the shape of the hand-made leather shoes called in Morocco Babouche =  بَبُوشْ or Balgha (Balra) = بْلْغَة.

Below shows the photo of Chebakiya Blighat by Meriya (CLICK HERE FOR MERIYA'S BLOG)

5-There is a different type of Chebakia called " "Halwa Mja3ba" = الحلوة المجعبة. This is a very popular traditional type of Chebakia, and curiously enough, it is prepared by men only.  The dough needs very slow rising time for 17 to 24 hours, and requires a lot of practice and patience to achieve success. There is a video here by Moroccan Chef Cook Choumicha which shows how to make Halwa Mja3ba. I took the picture below of "Halwa Mja3ba" from this Cuisine Site!

I'm submitting this post to Susan's Yeastspottinga blog devoted to yeast bread.  Please check it out!

  Rosebud Chebakia / Chebakia sous forme de rose:



Ingredients for Chebakia dough : / Ingredients pour la pâte de Chabbakia:

-1 kg flour (I used strong white bread flour), sifted / 1 kg de farine tamisée (J'ai mis la farine forte blanche, je crois c'est ce qu'ils appellent en France "Farine T55", mais je ne suis pas certaine)

-200 gr brown sesame seeds / 200 gr de graines de sésame brunes

-2 tablespoons anise seeds / 2 c à soupe de graines d'anis

-2 cloves / 2 clous de girofle

-1/2 teaspoon salt / 1/2 c à thé ou à café de sel

-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon / 2 c à soupe de cannelle moulu

-200 gr blanched almonds / 200 gr d'amandes blanchies

 -60 ml white vinegar / 60 ml de vinaigre blanc

 -1/2 teaspoon saffron threads  / 1/2 c à thé ou à café de pistils de safran 

 -Few small grains of gum arabic / Quelques graines de gomme arabique 

-100 ml pure olive oil / 100 ml d'huile d'olive de bonne qualité

-1 egg / 1 oeuf

-1 egg white / 1 blanc d'oeuf

-100 ml melted butter / 100 ml de beurre fondu

-180 ml orange blossom water (use good quality) / 180 ml d'eau de fleur d'oranger de bonne qualité

-You will need about 60 ml warm water, depending on your flour quality.  Add more if you need to./ Vous aurez besoin d'environ 60 ml d'eau tiède. Il faut prendre en considération la qualité de votre farine, ajouter plus d'eau si nécessaire.

N.B. If necessary, use this water to dilute the yeast with pinch of sugar, cover and allow to rest for a few minutes. / Si  nécessaire, utiliser cette eau pour diluer la levure avec un tout petit peu de sucre, puis couvrir et laisser reposer quelques minutes.

-1 teaspoon baking powder (About 5 ml) / 1 c à thé ou à café (Environ 5 ml) de levure chimique ou patissière ou la poudre à pâte

-1/2 teaspoon (About 2.5 ml) yeast / 1/2 c à thé ou à café (Environ 2.5 ml) de levure boulangère

N.B. : I used instant dry yeast, but you might use fresh or active dry yeast as well.  /  J'ai mis la levure instantanée mais vous pouvez aussi utiliser d'autres types de levure soit fraîche ou sèche active.


 Sweet Honey Syrup: / Mélange de Miel :

-1.5 kg best-quality honey / 1.5 kg de miel de bonne qualité 

-2 tablespoons orange flower water / d'eau de fleur d'oranger

-Pinch of gum arabic / Une pincée de gomme arabique

-1 cinnamon stick / 1 bâton de cannelle

 For Frying Chebakia : / Faire frire le Chebakia:

-1.5 liters vegetable oil / 1.5 litres de l'huile végétale


Other/Autre Ingredient:

-About 100 gr golden sesame seeds, toasted, for decorating / Environ 100 gr de graines de sésame brunes pour la touche finale


Prepare the Chebakia dough: / Préparer la pâte de Chabbakia:

1-You have to plan ahead on this recipe, to get the sesame seeds, washed, dried and available.  Wash out the dirt and mud. Drain the seeds and let them dry in the sun, placing them on a large baking pan. This will take 1 to 2 days to dry them.  When dry, remove any small stones from brown natural sesame seeds. / Préparer les graines de sésame avant de commencer la préparation de Sellou.  Laver les graines de sésames et laisser sécher  naturellement au soleil, ceci peut prendre 1 jusqu'à 2 jours.  Puis enlever les mauvaises graines et faire attention si jamais il y a des petites pierres noires.

2-Toast sesame seeds in a small pan over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring or shaking the pan constantly.  Allow to cool. /Faire dorer les graines de sésame à la poêle en remuant sans arrêt. Laisser refroidir.

3-Grind sesame seeds into fine powder. / Faire moudre les graines de sesame au moulin jusqu'à obtention d'une poudre bine fine.

4-Toast the blanched almonds either in the oven or in a heavy, ungreased skillet or pan until golden, stirring every few minutes otherwise they will burn. / Dans une poêle ou au four, faire revenir les amandes blanchies qu'on brasse fréquemment jusqu'à coloration.

5-Grind almonds into fine powder. / Faire moudre les amandes au moulin jusqu'à obtention d'une poudre bine fine.

6-In a large bowl, place ground sesame and almond with the flour and all other dry ingredients, then add the remaining ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough.  Knead the dough with hands for about 10 minutes. / Dans un grand bol, mélanger les graines de sésame et amandes moulues, puis ajouter tous les ingrédients secs, bien mélanger le tout, ensuite ajouter le reste d'ingrédients en formant une pâte assez ferme. Surtout la pâte ne doit être collante.  Pétrir à la main pendant 10 minutes environ.

7-Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap to let it rest for about 30 minutes./Couvrir avec un film alimentaire ou un torchon propre puis laisser reposer pendant environ 30 minutes.

8-Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and wrap each dough ball separately in plastic wrap./ Couper la pâte en 6 boules égales et couvrir chaque boule avec un film alimentaire. 

Shaping Chebakia : / Façonnage de Chabbakiya:

1-You don't need to flour your work surface to roll out the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out each part into a very thin rectangle. / Au rouleau pâtisserie, étaler chaque boule en un grand rectangle très mince.  Pas besoin de fariner le plan de travail car si la pâte est bien faite, elle n'est pas supposée de coller.

 2-Use Chebakia cutter to form squares, which should have five (5) strips each. / Avec un emporte pièce de chabbakiya, couper des carrés qui doivent avoir cinq (5) lanières chacun.


  3-But, if you don't have a special mold for Chebakia, simply cut the the thin dough into small squares, measuring about 8 cm on all sides. Then using pastry wheel with fluted edge, make four (4) evenly spaced cuts lengthwise in each square, but not cutting through to the edges of the square. / Mais, si vous n'avez pas un emporte pièce de chabbakiya, utiliser tout simplement une roulette dentelée, puis couper des petits carrés dont les côtés mesurent environ 8 cm, puis faire 4 longues incisions parallèles à l'intérieur de chaque carré, mais sans arriver jusqu'au bord. 

 4-Now you will have little squares with five (5) strips each. / Vous aurez des petits carrés, ayant cinq (5) lanières chacun. 

5-This is Nassim's technique to fold Chebakia, very easy and clever! He inserts a straw into the square, making sure that the strips number: 1, 3 and 5 are on top of the straw, whereas strips number: 2 and 4 are under the straw. /  Ici, je vous montre une technique de mon fils Nassim, mon petit chou de 9 ans, pour façonner le Chebakia que je trouve toute simple mais efficace et bien pensée. Il insère une paille à l'interieur du carré, en veillant à ce que les lanières numéro: 1, 3 et 5 soient au-dessus de la paille, tandis que les lanières numéro: 2 et 4 soient sous la paille.

 6-He takes the straw and allows the strips of dough to slide down. He removes the straw, then, using his little fingers, turns the dough inside out. / Il prend la paille vers le haut, en laissant glisser les lanières sur un plan de travail, puis il retire la paille.  Ensuite, il travaille avec ses petits doigts pour faire sortir la fleur vert le haut.

 7-Then, he gently pinches both the opposite corners to seal the flower Chebakia, and that's it! / Puis, délicatement il attache les 2 coins ensemble pour bien sceller la rose, et c'est tout!

 8-Repeat the process with the remaining squares and the covered dough. /  Faire pareil avec le reste de carrés et la pâte recouverte du film alimentaire.

N.B. As you can see the shaping of Chebakia is not the same on the photo below, it's normal, since some were made by my lovely boys, some by my husband and others by our friend and myself.  But they all look beautiful. /Comme vous pouvez remarquer le façonnage sur la photo ci-dessous, est différent, puisque quelques uns ont été faits par mes adorables enfants, les autres par mon mari, notre amie, et moi-même, mais l'important qu'ils sont tous beaux!

And here are some well-detailed photos how to shape Chebakia by the food writer Christine-Amina Benlafquih CLICK HERE / Voici aussi des photos comment façonner Chebakiya Marocaine, et que je trouve vraiment bien faites par Christine-Amina Benlafquihl'experte américaine en cuisine Marocaine, CLIQUEZ ICI


Prepare the honey syrup : Préparer le  sirop au miel:

-Heat the honey for a few minutes, it should be warm but not bubbling. Then add  to honey the orange flower water, gum arabic and cinnamon stick and turn off the heat. / Chauffer le miel pendant quelques minutes, attention ne laisser pas bouillir.  Puis ajouter l'eau de fleur d'oranger, gomme pilées et cannelle et mélanger le miel.  Retirer du feu.

 Cooking Chebakia / Faire cuire Chabbakiya:

1-In a deep fryer or large pot, heat vegetable oil over moderate heat. / Sur un feu moyen, faire chauffer l'huile dans une poêle à frire ou autres. 

N.B . Before starting to fry Chebakia, test the temperature by dropping a small piece of carrot into the oil; if it floats and quickly starts to brown, then you can start frying.  It is very important to make sure the oil is hot enough before frying because if the temperature is too low, the resulting product is very greasy and unappealing. To keep the oil temperature constant while frying, fry only a few Chebakia at a time. / Avant de commencer à faire frire le Chebakia, vérifier la température de l’huile de friture, en jetant dans l'huile un morceau de carotte, et s’il dore et remonte à la surface, alors vous avez le feu vert pour commencer.  Surtout n'essayez pas d'aller plus vite en mettant trop de Chabakiya en même temps dans la poêle à frire car si il y en a trop, ils vont abaisser la température de friture, ainsi vos Chabbakias absorberont beaucoup de gras et goûteront l'huile.

2-When the oil is hot, then reduce a little bit the heat, and add Chebakia, only a few at a time, and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, on both sides or until brown. Add more cold oil, if necessary, and allow a couple of minutes to return to perfect frying temperature, then continue cooking Chebakia. / Dés que l'huile est bien chaude, baisser immédiatement un peu la température.  Faire frire seulement quelques Chebakia à  la fois pour 4 à 5 minutes de chaque côté ou jusqu'à ce qu'elles soient bien dorées et gonflées.  Ajouter plus d'huile froide si nécessaire et attendre quelques minutes jusqu'à que l'huile se réchauffe et continuer à cuire le reste des Chabbakiyas de la même façon.

 Soaking the Chebakia in Honey Mixture: / Faire tremper Chebakia dans le mélange du miel:

 1-Drain and put Chebakia in the hot honey, then gently push down to submerge them in the honey. Allow to soak for 10 to 15 minutes./ Bien les égoutter, puis plonger-les dans le miel chaud, sans les entasser. Laisser le Chebakia trempée dans le miel  de 10 à 15 minutes.

 2-Remove the chebakia from the honey and sprinkle slightly with toasted sesame seeds or with almonds, coarsely chopped and toasted. Serve with Harira, Enjoy and Happy Ramadan! / Retirer et égoutter. Saupoudrer Chebakiya de graines de sésames grillées ou amandes grillées et hachées grossièrement. Servir avec du Harira et Bssaha w Raha et Mabrouk 3likom Ramdan!

How to shape Rosebud Chebakia / Façonnage de Chebakia sous forme de rose:

 1-Using a rolling pin, flatten the Chabakia dough into a very thin circle. Use the circular cookie cutter or a small glass or others to cut smaller circles out on the large circle. / Utiliser un rouleau à pâtisserie, puis aplatir une boule de pâte de Chabbakia sous forme d'un cerle très mince, ensuite couper des petites rondelles avec un emporte-pièce rond.

 2-Arrange the six (6) small circles, half stacking on top of each other. With your fingers, press the edges of the circles to make them thiner./ Placer les six (6) petits cercles en rang sur une seule ligne, de telle sorte que chaque cercle doit cacher la moitié du cercle à côté. Aplatir un peu les bords des cercles avec vos doigts.

3-Place the stuffing on top of the second circle (Roasted or fried almond or almond paste or date paste  or fig paste etc...). / Placer votre farce sur le deuxième cercle (qui peut être soit amandes roties ou  pâte de dattes ou d'amandes ou de figues etc... )

4-Start rolling from the first circle, the one near the stuffing. / Commencer à rouler à partir du premier cercle, celui qui est près de la farce.


 5-Press the dough gently in the centre to help open the rose./ Délicatment, appuyer sur le milieu de la pâte pour faire ouvrir la rose.

6-To open the rose, you must force the bud open by a straw or your fingers or other tools, continue pressing the petals to separate them from the bud, and until all the petals are open and full. Don't be overly gentle during this process!/ Utilisez une paile ou vos doigts ou autres outils pour ouvrir les pétales de la rose et les separer du coeur. N'accordez pas beaucoup d'importance aux petits details.



bryoria's picture

I made another batch of 100% whole wheat buttermilk bread from Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book yesterday.  This time I used freshly ground flour (hard red spring wheat) measured by weight, mixed all the ingredients except the butter for 2 minutes and then let the dough sit for 40 minutes in an attempt to hydrate the fresh ground flour a little bit.  Next time I would attempt this without the salt added as per the various threads on this site regarding autloyse - but yesterday I didn't come up with the idea until after I'd already added everything.

After the 40 minute rest I mixed it for 4 more minutes on speed 4 on the KitchenAid and added the butter in cold, small, pieces as per the recipe.  The butter didn't mix in very well so I moved the dough to the counter and kneaded the butter in for another minute or two, then let the dough sit in a covered bowl (in a cold oven with the lights on for warmth).  I let it rise for 2 hours and 15 minutes, giving a stretch and fold every 45 minutes.  Then divided it into two equal pieces, rounded them and let them sit for 15 minutes before forming them into pan loaves. 

I let the loaves rise for 1 hour, then baked them in a pre-heated 350F convect oven for 35 minutes.  They rose in the oven a little more and ended up the perfect size for sandwiches. 

This bread is always delicious and my family loves its softness and flavour for sandwiches and toast.  The fresh-baked heels are amazing and we usually snitch those from the sliced loaf before we freeze it - no one ever wants the heels for toast or sandwiches later anyway!

loydb's picture

I'm almost caught up! It's week 5 in the Inside the Jewish Bakery Challenge - Semester 1. This week was Honey Cake.  

This called for white rye flour. To make it, I milled whole rye and then sifted to 80% extraction. I think the walnuts were a little heavy, the centers never really rose even after 3 hours of cooking. Almonds may have been a better choice.

In spite of it being a really runny, gummy, goopy batter, it baked up incredibly light, and not nearly as sweet as I would have anticipated from the pound of honey in it. There is no gumminess at all.

awloescher's picture






timg2574's picture

crater topped loaf

December 5, 2011 - 12:30pm -- timg2574

i am pretty new to bread baking in a machine. the box mixes that i use turn out wonderful. have decided to try my hand at start from scratch bread. i have tried this recipe twice and i get the same result. the top is crated. the center has fallen a inch or so from top. the loaves have been very hard and very dense. they have tasted great but not real sure what my problem is. here is the recipe that i am working from. any help would be greatly appreciated.

1 1/2 pound loaf.

1- 1/8 cup of milk

2-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of bread flour


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