Sudan: Kisra

Flat bread is a mainstay of food in many countries. One of the things that I have learned while writing this is just how important flat bread is to many cultures. It's popularity makes sense. It is easy to make, requires few ingredients and keeps well. 

Kisra is a flat bread commonly found in Sudan. It is consumed as a street food and as an acocmpaniment to a variety of stews and soups. It is not unheard of for kisra to be consumed at both lunch and dinner. There are two main forms of bread made from kisra batter. The first is kisra rhaheeefa, which is the thin flat bread I was going for. The second is kisra aseeda, which turns out more like a porridge when cooked. 

There are many different recipes for kisra. The basic dough is a flour mixed with water that is left to ferment. Sorghum and wheat flour can be used, but sorghum is the more common flour used in Sudan. Unfortunately, I was unable to find sorghum, so I went with a wheat flour recipe. The recipe I chose includes yogurt, which assist with the fermentation process.

The recipe I used can be found here: https://www.africanfood.recipes/2019/04/sudanese-kisra-kesra-bread.html

Ingredients
1 cup wheat flour
2-3 cups water
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sesame oil for greasing the crepe pan

Directions
Mix flour with 2-3 cups water into a thin consistency, similar to pancake mixture but slightly thinner.

Add yogurt and mix well. Leave covered for 3 days to ferment in the fridge.

Heat the pan and grease lightly with oil. Pour ¼ cup of the dough mixture onto the crepe pan and spread evenly using a crepe maker utensil into a thin sheet. Allow 1-2mins to cook one side then flip and cook another 1 minute.

My notes: I wound up using 2.5 cups water. During the fermentation process, the batter separates, so it will need to be remixed before cooking. Since I have never cooked a crepe before, I decided to make a few testers first and I am very glad I did. It took a few attempts to get the flat bread correct. 

So, the kisra had an unusual reception. The taste was enjoyed by everyone, but the texture got mixed reviews. The texture is...spongy, I guess would be the best description. I have made other flat breads and this was the first time I have encountered this texture, which I imagine has something to do with the fermenting. We made a sudanese stew to accompany the flat bread and the mix of the bread and stew was very good.

I can't see myself ever making this again, due to the texture, but it was fun and a completely unique bread.

Next stop: Paraguay