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Taco Soup
Naz Deravian
1282 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,282
1 hour 15 minutes
Published March 28, 2024
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, yeast and salt. Add 1½ cups warm water and knead directly in the bowl with your hands until a sticky dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles in size and has tiny air pockets.
Heat up 1 teaspoon of oil over medium-high in a medium (10-inch) nonstick skillet. Set a small bowl of water handy for wetting your fingers as needed. Once the pan is warm, wet your fingers with the water, and pinch off about a quarter of the dough, pat it flat and place it in the skillet. Start spreading the dough outward with your fingers until you have a round shape that fills a majority of your skillet and the dough is approximately 6 to 7 inches round and ⅓ inch thick. Cover and cook, adjusting heat as needed, until there’s enough steam on your lid to make the pan start sizzling and the bottom of the muufo is crisped and browned in spots, about 2 minutes.
Take off the lid, drizzle or brush ½ teaspoon oil over the muufo, and flip it. Cook, uncovered, until the second side is done and the muufo is no longer doughy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the muufo to a plate and repeat the process until all of your muufo is done. Muufo is best consumed while still warm.
Glad to see muufo got its place in NYT. I am from Somalia and a citizen of the US. I love muufo. I remember growing up in Mogadishu and in the evenings going to a home-based muufo bakery to watch my order being made in the hot clay oven. The woman would wet her hands just before she attached the dough to the oven's red-hot coals. She never flinched. Amazing.
It's the gluten that captures and holds the carbon dioxide given off by the yeast. Your dough won't rise as high - unless you add something like xanthan or guar gum. Perhaps your gluten free flour mix already contains xanthan or another stabilizer. Also, I'd proof the yeast with some of the water and sugar before mixing it with the flour and cornmeal. Make sure you use lukewarm water. It should feel warm to the touch but not hot. If the water is cold, the yeast may struggle to activate.
Profitendieu, You're not a fan of polenta, I take it. Personally, I use more cornmeal than flour in cornbread, if I use flour at all and the family loves the taste. The more cornmeal one uses, however, the more crumbly the product. Grittiness, in my experience, comes from cornmeal that has not been ground fine enough and is better used in polenta, where the grit softens in water over a long cooking time.
Can this be made with gluten free flour?
I have a cookbook from the 1930’s. The recipe for cornbread says to “scald” the milk, then mix the corn meal in until the mixture cools. This book was written in the days before assured pasteurization, so scalding, heating the milk to just below boiling, kept out bad bacterial action which could make baked goods have a ropey texture. I tried this technique, and it created a smoother cornbread that wasn’t crumbly. A professional baker I know uses a similar technique for wholegrain muffins.
This was a delicious revelation. I used Masienda's masa harina and otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Such a deep and tasty and addictive flavor profile.
"cornmeal mix" is always made with cornmeal and wheat flour otherwise the contributions of the corn (flavor and texture) are too pronounced - if you want a gritty, overly corny bite, go ahead and use just corn, but don't pass it my way
What would happen if I added corn kernels to the dough? Whoa! I need to try that. It might be fabulous or a complete disaster. Crunchy little bits of corn.
You're going to need more water or reduce the amount of flour. Water: For every cup of whole wheat flour substituted, increase the amount of water by 2 teaspoons. Flour: If you measure by weight, substitute 113g whole wheat flour for every 1 cup (120g) of white flour.
This was excellent! The muufo were crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. The only thing I did differently was that I activated the yeast in the water with the sugar for 10 minutes before adding it all to the dry mix. But this was an excellent recipe.
I’m made this with regular cornmeal and the dough came out more like batter. I ran out of time and had to leave it to proof overnight in the fridge. It turned out just fine! I used 1/2 teaspoon oil for each. Then I froze most for future use because I doubled the recipe.
These were delicious. I used cornmeal that was not precooked (from organic Bloody Butcher red corn). My dough came out more like batter - too wet to tear off and flatten. Used a ladle instead, then spread the batter with wet fingers as described in the recipe and proceeded as it is written. The muufo is tasty on its own, and tears well into pieces for scooping up gravy, stew, etc. I will make these again without hesitation.
So you are suppose to spread with your fingers IN the medium-hot skillet? Sounds a little painful!
Can you let this rise for longer than an hour?
Make the batter in the morning, then leave it to rest all day in the fridge and it's ready when dinner time rolls around. That worked for me.
Can you use whole wheat flour?
Very tasty. And very easy. I am going to make this often.
Way too much water for the amount of corn meal and flour! As published, dough is about 125% hydration. Probably should be about 80%. Will try 1 c. water if I make these again.
I’ve made these twice now, using masa harina instead of P.A.N. flour because that’s what I had. Puzzled by the negative review average—they were AMAZING. Crispy on the outside, fluffy and moist on the inside, with a hint of corn flavor. My family absolutely loved them!
I bake it in the Uuni pizza oven. Takes about a 90 seconds, turning every 20 seconds or so.
Re scalding the milk... Don't add the yeast until the milk has cooled to a lukewarm temperature.
Wait -- what milk?
This was a delicious revelation. I used Masienda's masa harina and otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Such a deep and tasty and addictive flavor profile.
To make this gluten free swap out the wheat flour with KA GF Measure for Measure flour. I haven’t tested. Might need to also add psyllium husk to get that bread chew.
Glad to see muufo got its place in NYT. I am from Somalia and a citizen of the US. I love muufo. I remember growing up in Mogadishu and in the evenings going to a home-based muufo bakery to watch my order being made in the hot clay oven. The woman would wet her hands just before she attached the dough to the oven's red-hot coals. She never flinched. Amazing.
For a gluten free version just skip the wheat flour and use corn masa flour. You should be able to find it in your local grocery store as Maseca. It won't fluff up as much but it tastes really good and if your willing Fry it up with lard instead of olive oil.
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