What is baghrir, the Moroccan thousand-hole pancake?

Baghrir is pure breakfast joy, and its nickname — the thousand-hole pancake — tells you exactly what to look for. The batter is made with fine semolina, flour, yeast, and water, blended until smooth and loose, then cooked on one side only in a hot pan. As it cooks, bubbles rise and burst across the surface, leaving it riddled with hundreds of tiny holes while the underside stays smooth and golden. You never flip it.

Those holes are the whole point: they make baghrir light, spongy, and absorbent, like a Moroccan crumpet. On its own the pancake is mild and faintly tangy from the yeast, but it is really a vehicle for the topping. The classic finish is a warm sauce of melted butter and honey poured over so it floods every little hole, turning each bite soft, sweet, and buttery. Some people add a touch of orange-blossom water.

You will find baghrir at breakfast and at the late-afternoon tea hour, that lovely Moroccan ritual of mint tea with something sweet. It is especially popular during Ramadan as part of the iftar spread, when its lightness and quick energy are welcome after fasting. Families make stacks of them, and children adore dunking the spongy rounds into honey.

Cafés and breakfast spots serve baghrir, and you will see vendors selling piles of the pale, dimpled pancakes in the souks, but they are easy and fun to make, so I often include them in morning cooking sessions. Watching the holes magically appear never gets old. My tip: eat them warm and freshly made, with plenty of the honey-butter, and a glass of mint tea alongside.