One of Tunisia’s most popular flatbreads is Mlewi (��لاوي, Mlawi or Mlewi). This simple flatbread recipe yields soft, flaky bread! Wrap it or use it as a spoon to scoop up your favorite dips.
I often seek perfection, which lead to this Tunisian flatbread dish, mlewi. I fell in love with Tunisian delicacies like Slata Tounsiya and Brik Au Thon while living there.
A Tunisian buddy and I spent a week evaluating recipes provided by family members, street vendors, our school instructor, and even a bus driver who wanted to help us find the ultimate mlewi dish. Tunisian generosity is limitless. After nine efforts, we finally made tasty, adaptable, and easy-to-make Mlewi.
Learn this laminated flatbread method to create a quick breakfast, lunch, or supper sandwich. Fill with Tunisian harissa, tuna, and cooked egg. This flatbread can replace a tortilla in your favorite wrap.
Contents Table – Ingredients for Tunisian Mlewi Flatbread Recipe
-Flatbread Recipe Instructions
– Knead and rest dough – Divide, shape, and cook flatbread
-Make Tunisian Flatbread Sandwich (Optional)
-Ingredients and steps
-Tunisian wrap preparation
More filling ideas:
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Tunesien Flatbread Recipe
In This Tunisian Flatbread Recipe?
This flatbread recipe makes soft, flaky bread using pantry items and simple procedures. What you need:
Mlewi flatbread ingredients: all-purpose flour, fine semolina, salt, water, and olive oil.
For Mlewi Flatbread
-All-purpose flour: Makes soft, sturdy, flexible dough.
-Semolina: Gritty and non-sticky. Some recipes utilize solely semolina, which is harsher yet tasty. It breaks very quickly, so I mix flours.
-Salt: Kosher salt improves bread taste.
-Olive oil: Liberally used to avoid sticking, olive oil gives dough a pleasant taste. I use high-quality extra virgin olive oil for almost everything in my cooking since it tastes better.
-A stack of folded mlewi flatbreads.
Flatbread Recipe Instructions
Make this flatbread by hand or using a stand mixer. Most importantly, avoid rolling pins! It will frustrate you since thin dough sticks and tears. Your fingertips and plenty of olive oil work better.
Prepare, Knead, and Rest Dough
Make dough. In a large bowl, combine 400 grams (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour, 215 grams (1 ½ cups) fine semolina, and 6 grams (1 teaspoon) salt. Stir in 380-400 grams (1 ⅔ – 1 ¾ cups) of lukewarm water with your hands to form a shaggy dough.bowl of loose mlewi dough.
Knead dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed using a mixer. Or, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes on a kitchen table or marble slab with your hands until smooth and elastic.Stretching mlewi flatbread dough.
Let dough rest. Make a dough ball and coat with olive oil. Return to a clean mixing bowl and cling wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.smooth mlewi flatbread dough covered with olive oil in a bowl.
Flatbread: Divide, Shape, Cook
Divide dough. The dough should have softened and spread by now. Divide into 8 rolls, place on an olive oil-coated sheet pan, and rest for 5 minutes.Eight tiny mlewi dough balls in a bowl.
Spread dough. Place the bun in the center of a clean countertop or big cutting board with olive oil. Poke dimples in the dough with olive oil-soaked fingertips to distribute it. Stretch the dough as much as possible. It’s okay if it tears now. Shape it like a round.Stretching Mlewi flatbread dough into a circle.
Start folding dough. FOLD one side toward the center.Folding stretched mlewi flatbread.
Create a square. Make an approximate square by repeating on all four sides. Use the remaining 7 dough rolls. Folding stretched mlewi flatbread.
Prepare dough for cooking. Heat a big non-stick pan on medium. Return the first folded dough square to your work surface. Stretch it again with your fingers to make a 7″x7″ square.Square-shaped mlewi flatbread dough.
Cook flatbread. The uncooked flatbread should be picked up lightly with both hands and rapidly transferred to a heated pan. Sear for a minute or two on each side until cooked through and golden. Extra oil is unnecessary since the bread already oil-saturated.photo of hot-plate-cooked mlewi flatbread dough.
Make Tunisian Flatbread Sandwich (Optional)
plate with two mlewi flatbread sandwich pieces.
I like this flatbread recipe for wraps. My favorite Tunisian dish is tuna, egg, fries, cheese, harissa, and olives.
Ingredients and steps
Harissa: This gently spicy, delicious paste gives Tunisian dishes their authentic taste and bite. It may be prepared at home, although Tunisians usually purchase it. It is easily found at Arabic food shops, select supermarkets, and online at our site. Use little at first, then more.
Cream cheese: The Tunisian street food sandwich that inspired my recipe utilizes Laughing Cow cheese. Cream cheese substitutes well.
Olive oil-canned tuna tastes better than water-packed.
Black olives: Slice your favorite olives or buy a jar of pre-sliced ones.
Homemade fries: Greek-style oven fries are great.
Hard-boiled eggs best at room temperature, so cook them ahead of time to cool. Tips for boiling eggs are here.
Tunisian wrap preparationAdd spreads. Spread cream cheese and harissa over freshly baked flatbread (our store sells our favorite harissa).
Fill. Sprinkle drained oil-packed tuna, hard-boiled egg, and chopped olives on homemade oven fries.
Roll. Roll like a tortilla and foil if desired for easy eating. Enjoy!
For more full options, try laminated flatbreads like Msemmen in Morocco, Yemen, or India. They are often served sweet with honey and fresh cheese.
Turkey salami and various fillings are popular in Tunisia. Try your favorite tastes and what you have.
