flat bread takes around an hour and a half off of making loaf bread or pizza bread. this is the same recipe, but with one rising, then quickly fried.
Equipment:
big bowl for dough rising
small bowl for yeast rising
plastic bag for covering rising bowl
some clean towels
bench scraper
big spoon
rolling pin (french rolling pins are nice, no squeaky handles)
tongs for flipping flatbread
non-stick griddle or sauté pan for frying flatbread
Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsps or 1 package of active dry yeast (not the self rising type or the pizza dough, or the bread machine type)
3 - 4 cups of all purpose flour, or, bread flour
2 tsps salt
1/4 tsp sugar
as needed, warm water
as needed, olive oil or oil of choice for the bowl
Method...
Workspace and prepping: Have a very clean, dry, somewhat open, large workspace (like a kitchen island, or a large counter). Have a clean towel on hand, your bench scraper by your side and around 2 1/2 cups flour mixed with the gluten and salt in a big mixing bowl, set aside and ready to go. Have around 1/2 cup flour at the edge of your workspace, on the table top, ready to be dusted and used.
Step 1: Place the yeast into a small bowl, add the sugar, add a very small amount of warm water (not hot, warm to touch), mix with a small spoon and cover with towel for around 1/2 hour. This doubles the yeast in volume and lets it rise, different from just proofing the yeast.
Step 2: Once the yeast has doubled, pour on top of the flour mixture and add more “warm” water with a spoon until the dough is coming together, if the water is not soaking into the flour, add more until it does
Step 3: Dust your hands and work area with the flour you have setting aside, and remove the formed mixture from the bowl, fold it over a couple times, while dusting with flour until you feel you can knead it a little without it sticking to everything. Start kneading the dough, flipping over and pressing your palm into it, while constantly incorporating more dustings of flour until it is not sticky. Should take around a minute or two. I learned from the youtube video on my pizza dough recipe that kneading does not matter, its the form of rising (in the plastic bag, moisture i’m assuming, that forms the gluten and the dough) This will form a soft ball of dough.
Step 4: Let the dough ball sit uncovered, then wash your big mixing bowl with hot, warm water. Dry the bowl and place a little olive oil in the bottom of the bowl. Transfer the dough and roll it around to cover with the oil, then cover with the plastic bag and set in a somewhat dark place for around 1 1/2 hours. Clean up the workspace with the bench scraper and leave the flour pile to use for the rolling.
Step 5: Rolling out flat bread: dust your hands and workspace with four, transfer the risen dough to the work surface and take 1/4 of the dough and roll out to the size that fits onto your sauté pan.
Step 6: Heat a little oil on your sauté griddle until griddle is hot (there are many non-teflon available nowadays). Place flatbread down until it starts bubbling and flip with tongs until it puffs a little and looks similar to a tortilla
Let cool to room temperature before storing. Store in plastic bags until use. Makes great mini pizzas, toasted bread bits for dipping and delicious wraps.
