Destination
Tangier
The story
Frakesh — also spelled fraqiya or frackich — are Morocco's ring-shaped tea biscuits: small dry, twice-baked biscuits scented with aniseed, fennel and toasted sesame, formed into small rings about 6cm across, baked once to set, then dried in a low oven for another 30 minutes so they turn crisp and long-lasting. Sold by weight at every pastry souk and bakery, kept in glass jars for months, and served with mint tea as an afternoon snack. Every Moroccan pantry has a jar of frakesh; every guest is offered one along with a small glass of tea.
Method
Toast the aniseed, fennel and 3 tbsp sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat 2 minutes until fragrant. Cool briefly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, semolina, sugar, salt, baking powder and toasted seeds.
Whisk the eggs, oil, water and orange blossom water in a small bowl. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix with your hand to bring together into a firm dough. Add more water 1 tbsp at a time only if the dough won't come together.
Knead 3 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Cover with a damp towel and rest 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 baking sheets. Divide the dough into 24 pieces (roughly walnut-sized). Roll each into a rope about 15cm long and 1cm thick. Curl into a ring and pinch the ends together firmly. Set on the baking sheets, spacing 3cm apart.
Brush each ring with beaten egg. Scatter with extra toasted sesame seeds. Bake at 180C for 20 to 25 minutes until pale gold and firm to the touch.
Reduce the oven to 120C. Bake another 25 to 30 minutes until the frakesh are dry, hard when tapped, and lightly golden all over. This second bake is what makes them keep for weeks.
Cool completely on a wire rack (30 minutes) — they crisp up as they cool. Store in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Serve with mint tea. Dunk each biscuit briefly in the tea to soften slightly before eating.
Tips
- Toast the seeds first. This wakes up their oils and gives frakesh their characteristic aroma. Untoasted aniseed and fennel taste dusty.
- Two-stage bake. This is the whole trick. First bake at 180C to set the shape and colour; second bake at 120C to dry them into keeping biscuits. Single-baked frakesh go stale in 2 days.
- Firm dough, not sticky. Frakesh dough should be firmer than a bread dough. Too wet and the rings collapse in the oven; too dry and they crack.
- Small rings. 6cm across is the classical size. Larger and they take too long to dry through; smaller and they burn at the edges.
- Store in a tin. In a sealed tin frakesh keep 3 weeks. In a paper bag they go stale in 4 days. Do not refrigerate — moisture is the enemy.
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