If you are looking for something savory, delicious, and potentially something new to offer for your family or guests, I have a great food recipe for you. Batbout could be described as Tunisian pita bread, just lightly fluffier than the traditional pita bread. The word batbout itself means “fat/chubby” it is used for cute things like kitties or puppies which have an adorable bubbly tummy. In Tunisia, this food is often served in bars, a small savory dish with your drink.
When the corona started, suddenly Tunisian Instagram accounts were filled with words #batboutchallenge and mouth-watering pictures of batbouts. A year later I am sharing this recipe with you and it happens to be the first recipe I am publishing. I don’t have a specific reason or story behind why I chose this to be the first recipe in this blog. On Saturday I happened to have too much time and I decided to bake these.
Making Batbout is easy but it takes a little bit of time and effort. This dough is my favorite to work with it is so soft and easy to handle. I tried to give you as exact measurements as possible. When I discover a new recipe and instructions tell me to “add enough water until you achieve desired texture” I always feel a bit lost as might be that I don’t have any clue which is the right texture. Anyway, back to the topic… It’s important that you use fine semolina. You will fail if semolina isn’t fine enough as it’s impossible to make dough out of too coarse semolina. I use Tunisian semolina and it is sold in oriental stores but when visiting Tunisia, I always buy a couple of packages as it is much cheaper there. If you buy a pack of fine semolina, you can make many other things with that not just batbout, for example, bread, pasta, biscuits. If you don’t find semolina you can substitute it with durum flour.
You can choose the size of the batbout you make. Smalls are handy party snacks, appetizers, and a great substitute for pizza bites and mini hamburgers. Bigger ones work well as a snack or lunch. This is an easy recipe and a tasty way of using leftovers. A filling can be anything you like and it is easy to modify to match a different kind of diet. The most used savory fillings in Tunisia are tuna and beef. Here is a couple of filling options if little inspiration is needed, below in a recipe you can find how I filled my batbouts with tuna.
Beef filling
Beef patties
Mature cheddar cheese, sliced
Lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Onion, sliced
Mayo
Vegetarian filling
Roasted eggplant, onion, and green pepper, sliced
Hard-boiled egg, diced
Yogurt dressing
Tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions diced
Chicken filling
Chicken thigh, shredded
Onion, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Chives, parsley, and cilantro chopped
High-quality mayo
Mozzarella cheese, grated
Tunisian batbout
22 pcs mini
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
250g semolina
150g white flour
1dl + 2,5dl water
Filling:
Harissa
Roasted garlic mayo
Lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Tuna
Red onion, sliced
Green olives, sliced
Black pepper
Method
Dissolve dry yeast and sugar in 1 dl of lukewarm water. Let it rest for 10 minutes. The dry yeast will activate and the mixture should become foamy.
In another bowl combine semolina, white flour, and salt, mix mix mix. Pour the yeast mixture in and start mixing, add the rest 2,5dl of the water little by little. Knead the dough by rolling, folding, and pushing until it is combined. This takes about 5minutes. The dough should be super soft but not sticky. Cover the dough with a damp tea towel and let it rise 30-60 minutes. It’s ready when doubled in size.
Sprinkle some semolina on a table, pour the dough and use a rolling pin to roll it into 5mm-1cm thick. Take a glass and cut the dough with it. Place the batbouts on a baking paper or oiled surface, cover with a tea towel and let rise 15-30 minutes when slightly risen.
Heat a pan or griddle, once hot, add a couple of batbouts, turn those several times, until they have puffed with air and browned on both sides. This will take about 2 minutes in total. Transfer cooked batbouts to a surface and cover with a tea towel and let cool down.
When the batbouts are cooled down, cut it partly half to create a pocket and fill up as you wish. Enjoy! Chehia tayba!
