Boulou, also known as boulous, is a Libyan Jewish sweet bread or

cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

Maghrebi Jewish :''See Mizrahi Jews for more information about the Eastern Jews.'' Maghrebi Jews ( or , ''Maghrebim''), are a Jewish diaspora group with a long history in the Maghreb region of North Africa, which includes present-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, ...

origin, similar to

mouna Mouna or Mona, also known as Lamona or Khobz soltani is an Algerian orange scented brioche that is indigenous to the city of Oran. It has a sweet taste enriched with oil and eggs and often contains anise, sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum ...

, tishpishti, or

pound cake Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powd ...

, that is traditionally made into loaves or rolls and consumed as part of the meal preceding the

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

Fast, or as part of the break fast that follows. It is most commonly found today in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Boulou has a sweet taste enriched with

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, eggs,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

, oil, and golden raisins it often contains seeds such as

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

, and

nigella seeds ''Nigella sativa'' (common names, black caraway, black cumin, nigella or kalonji) is an annual flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to western Asia (Arabia, the Levant, Cyprus, Turkey, Iran and Iraq), and eastern Europe (Bulgari ...

Overview

Boulou is traditionally consumed by

Maghrebi Jews :''See Mizrahi Jews for more information about the Eastern Jews.'' Maghrebi Jews ( or , ''Maghrebim''), are a Jewish diaspora group with a long history in the Maghreb region of North Africa, which includes present-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, ...

during the Hebrew month of

Tishrei Tishrei () or Tishri (; ''tīšrē'' or ''tīšrī''; from Akkadian ''tašrītu'' "beginning", from ''šurrû'' "to begin") is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year (wh ...

in the leadup to

, and as part of the Yom Kippur breakfast. Boulou has a unique taste and texture that can be described as either a sweet cake-like bread or a bread-like cake, as it is close to both. It is also traditionally served for

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

. Its popularity has spread from Libyan

Jewish cuisine Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...

, to Tunisian Jewish cuisine, but also to French Jewish and

Israeli cuisine Israeli cuisine primarily comprises dishes brought from the Jewish diaspora, and has more recently been defined by the development of a notable fusion cuisine characterized by the mixing of Jewish cuisine and Arab cuisine.Gold, Rozann''A Region's ...

(owing to the large population of Libyan Jews in both countries).

Tunisian Jewish version

The

Tunisian Jews The history of the Jews in Tunisia dates back nearly two thousand years to the Ancient Carthage, Punic era. The Jewish community of Tunisia grew following successive waves of immigration and proselytism before its development was hampered by the ...

have a version of boulou due to their proximity to the Libyan Jews. This variant uses baking powder instead of yeast as a leavened and is similar to the Libyan Jewish boulou but with the addition of orange zest and chopped almonds.

References

{{African cuisine Yom Kippur Jewish baked goods Jewish breads Sephardi Jewish cuisine Israeli cuisine Passover Libyan Jews Jews and Judaism in Tunisia North African cuisine Cakes