This is one of my long standing favorites from a Paula Wolfert cookbook: The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean. I use a bit more whole wheat flour than the original calls for and I adapted it for the stand mixer. (The original recipe calls for using a food processor.) It uses a combination of yeast and baking powder as leaveners, and it has a long rising time since there's so little yeast. The result is a beautiful slightly puffy bread that's more like a pita than a flatbread. I serve it either simply with some honey, next to soup, or along with Mediterranean salads, beans, roasted chickpeas, or falafel balls. (Yogurt is always a good accompaniment too. Click here if you want to read about my obsession with yogurt.)
Paula Wolfert's Griddle Bread
Be sure to sift the whole wheat flour. I tried skipping that once and it really affected the texture.
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water (you can also use half milk and half water for a slightly richer dough)
4 tablespoons olive oil
In a stand mixer, combine the yeast, sugar and warm water. Let it proof for a few minutes.
Add the flours, salt, and baking powder. Mix briefly. With the machine running, add the water and oil. Mix for 2-3 minutes till smooth. Cover and let stand for about 2 hours.
Punch the dough down and divide it into four equal parts. Use your hands to shape each part roughly into a round flat loaf. Leave the loaves on a lightly floured surface (I use a cutting board) and cover with a clean dishcloth. Let rise for another 3 hours or so.
Heat up a large cast iron pan over a medium flame. Roll each piece of dough into a 10-12 inch round. Put the first round into the heated pan and cook it until it's spotted and swollen (about 2 minutes). Use a spatula to flip the loaf and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Serve the bread warm. (You can keep it warm for about 20 minutes in a barely-warm 170* oven.)
See my post on Yeast Spotting.
I shared this post on Countdown to 2011!
What a fun recipe! Homemade flatbread is so much better than the store-bought stuff, isn't it? I love your photo story of the bread-making process too :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kylie. Yes, I find bread-making therapeutic, and you just can't compare the homemade to the store bought stuff. It's practically a different food!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting bread -- sounds delicious. Thanks for linking it up to the countdown!
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