TITLE: Flatbreads
DATE: 2021-04-05
AUTHOR: John L. Godlee
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I tried to make flatbreads for the first time at secondary school
in food tech class, when I was about 13. We were doing a module on
world bread and each student had to pick a culture / country, learn
about their bread, and cook some examples. I chose India as my case
study and tried to create Thepla. Thepla is a Gujarati bread made
usually with yoghurt, ghee, wheat flour, fenugreek and green
chillies. I remember the breads I made turned out quite stodgy and
greasy, probably because the pan wasn't hot enough.
[Thepla]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thepla
Now I make flatbreads frequently in all sorts of guises. Here I'm
defining flatbreads as any bread which is much wider than it is
tall. Basically anything that isn't a loaf or roll of some kind.
The most generic flatbread I make uses plain flour, vegetable oil,
salt and water. It is dry fried in a very hot pan. I make these
flatbreads to serve with eggs for breakfast, as wraps for lunch, or
to pair with a stew for supper. The recipe I use varies a bit
depending on the exact type of bread that I want, but roughly it is:
Ingredients
- 150 g plain flour
- 60 ml water
- 2 tbsp oil
- 0.75 tsp salt
Method
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl.
2. Mix in more or less water bit by bit with a wooden spoon or
paddle until the dough forms a cohesive, supple, non-sticky ball
3. Knead on a lightly floured work surface until the dough isn't
shaggy and sticky.
4. Divide the dough into four and shape into balls.
5. Flatten the balls to form a disc.
6. Roll the balls out on a very lightly flowered surface until
they are about 1-2 mm thick.
7. Heat a shallow thin-bottomed pan until it is almost smoking.
8. Fry each bread until bubbles start to form on the surface, then
flip and fry the other side until lightly browned, with darker
patches where the bubbles are.
9. Stack the breads and possibly cover with a towel to steam them
for a couple of minutes.
Tips and variations
- If I want to make the bread thinner I add more oil. Adding a
lot of oil can make the bread flakey.
- If I want the bread to be more fluffy, which is nice for
sopping up a stew, I add some baking powder and roll a bit thicker.
- I've found that if I leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes
before rolling it becomes much more pliable. This allows me to make
the breads thinner and use less flour, more like tortillas.
- A good pan is key. I use a large shallow aluminium pan which
I've seasoned over many years to build up a non-stick layer of
black carbon and oil. I would avoid pans with a teflon or similar
non-stick surface. They often can't handle getting so hot and can
impart an unpleasant flavour to the bread.
- Basic additions to these flat breads include:
- dried green herbs like fenugreek or oregano
- olive oil instead of vegetable oil
- nigella seeds (onion seeds)
- finely minced garlic
- Adding yoghurt to the dough makes the resulting bread much more
chewy and stretchy, which makes it perfect for wraps which resemble
gyros. Make sure to reduce the amount of water.
- Leavened flatbreads similar to naan are nice if you have more
time available. use the above recipe but add 1 tsp dried yeast,
knead for 5-10 minutes, then leave to prove for an hour or more
before rolling out. Proving overnight in the fridge gives the bread
a nice tangy flavour. Then cook in a hot pan as with the normal
recipe.
- Make thin breads and add a bit of margerine, ghee, butter, or
vegetable oil to the pan to make something that resembles an Indian
parotta. Make sure to pick an oil with a high smoke point.
[gyros]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyro_(food)
[parotta]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parotta
As I've travelled for fieldwork or holidays I've encountered
flatbreads in many other contexts which have influenced the way I
make flatbreads. In southern Tanzania it's common to have oily
chapatis with bean stew for breakfast and lunch. Some people tear
up the chapati and mix it through the beans. In northern Brazil I
saw flatbreads made with cassava flour (manioca) called beiju,
which have a grainy sticky texture a bit like a bao bun. They can
be served sweet (e.g. with jam) or savoury (e.g. with pulled pork).
In the southwest of the United States there are the wheat and corn
tortillas. In central Europe and towards Turkey there are a
multitude of flat breads like pide, bazlama, and manakish which are
often flavoured with fresh herbs or spread with meat and sharp
cheese.
[chapatis]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapati
[beiju]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbeju
[pide]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pita
[bazlama]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazlama
[manakish]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manakish
