Easter Brioche · Oran Original
Mouna
Photo: Waran18 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
It was created by Oran's Spanish-descended community for Easter, yet it became such a citywide staple that many Algerian families now bake and share it too, regardless of the holiday it began with.
Mouna is a soft, dome-shaped brioche scented with orange zest and anise, its crust often slashed in a cross pattern before baking. Bakeries across Oran sell it year-round, though it remains most closely tied to the Easter season.
Why it's made this way: The bread traces to Oran's Spanish and pied-noir communities, and its adoption across the whole city is often cited as an emblem of Oran's mixed Mediterranean heritage.
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