Bravanese Bread
- Soomaali
- Muufo Baraawe
- Français
- Pain Bravanais (Maanda)
- العربية
- not translated yet
By Leila & Abdullahi · ·
Maanda (Muufo Baraawe in Somali) is the traditional bread of the Bravanese (Brava, Somalia). The story of Maanda is the story of the daily life of the Bravanese. In Brava, Maanda is made from white, dehydrated corn kernels, and making it in the traditional way is a very time consuming process.
On day one, the corn is put in a woven basket (shkapu) and is taken to the mill where it is crushed. This process is called khparhazaa gelle. The crushed corn is then taken back home where the skin of the corn is removed. Children who are at the Qur’anic school age undertake the task of transporting the corn back and forth. The corn is then soaked overnight (koorhoza).
The next day, the soaked corn is again taken to a different mill where this time it is turned into a paste (kuta [pron. ‘t’ as in take]). The Bravanese will say, “Maanda iteela [pron. ‘t’ as in take],” meaning the corn has been turned into paste.
The paste is mixed with a little flour, sugar, water, and a starter dough (khamiiri) left from the previous day’s Maanda dough. It is then left to rise for about three hours. In the meantime, the clay oven (ntanu) is prepared with fire wood (skunyi) and is lit. The Maanda is then baked. This process is repeated day in and day out, throughout the whole year. In Brava, Maanda is baked twice daily, once in the morning for breakfast and then in late afternoon for dinner.
Before the advent of the mill, the process of preparing Maanda was even more laborious. In those days, the Bravanese used a very large wooden mortar-and-pestle to crush the corn kernels.
The recipe below uses ingredients that are readily available, and the whole process takes not more than 45 minutes of preparation in addition to the time it takes for the dough to rise.
Watch
Ingredients
1 cup = 237 mL · 1 Tbsp = 15 mL · 1 tsp = 5 mL. All are level measurements.
Method
Tap a step to mark it done.
Combine the dry ingredients; add 2/3 of the water; mix and add remaining water; mix thoroughly making sure that there are no lumps.
Place in a warm location and let rise for 2 hours. The dough will double in size. The gluten will develop and the dough will become elastic.
Preheat the oven to 232ºC/450ºF.
Oil the wok; sprinkle a little flour then wipe off; wet your hands in a bowl of water and shape a fistful of dough; form it into an oblong shape.
Attach the dough halfway along the sides of a very hot wok; repeat until no gap remains.
Cover the wok with a lid and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove after 30 minutes and let it cool.
When it is cool to the touch, separate the maanda. They will separate easily.
If you don’t have a wok, don’t worry. You can use a pan instead. If the pan doesn’t have a lid, improvise.
Heat a lightly oiled and floured pan; shape the dough and place in the pan; cover with a lid and put it in a pre-heated oven (450ºF). Bake for 30 minutes.
Comments
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Muufo baraawe ayaan rabaa seen ku heli karaa
Muufo Baraawe middaan ayaa la dhahaa. Muufo tinaarna halkaan ka gal /recipes/somali-corn-flatbread/.
I love your simple organized steps. It makes me love cooking more. I was wondering if you can post the recipe to the other type of circular muufo that is more flat if you know what I mean. I don’t know if that has a name. I just know it as somali muufo. Thank you again for your great work.
Thank you very much for your kind comment. God willing, we will be posting the Somali Muufo soon.
Thank you for your quick answer. I really believe that the team of xawaash is creating a new generation of great housewives. Thanks to you my husband looks forward to the dinner every night. THANK YOU!
It is fantastic that your husband appreciates your cooking. Well done!
Do you have any idea of how much flour and how much corn flour i should use? Thanks
You can use 1 cup corn flour or corn meal, 1/2 cup plain flour, 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 3/4 cup water. Mix and let the dough rise for 2 hours then bake as shown in the video. This yields three muufo.
Question:
I don’t have semolina on hand and i would like to make muufo. Is it possible to use plain flour?
You cannot make Muufo from plain flour only, but you can use a mix of corn flour and plain flour.