Easy Flatbreads
Ah, flatbreads. You see them everywhere. Everyone is banging on about flatbreads; read any food articles, cookbooks or magazines and you’ll come across flatbreads. Are they easy flatbreads? In my experience, some are and some are not. Can you be bothered to actually make flatbreads? Even if they are easy? If you are reading this, you probably will.
Recently, I was on holiday with some friends and naturally I was on kitchen duty. For lunch, I had whipped up a Cous Cous salad, (I replaced the pumpkin in this recipe with sweet potato) and for dinner had prepared chicken gyros with flatbreads. A friend I have known for decades asked, “Do you cook like this all the time?” I was grateful the healthy aspect was evident but was a bit underwhelmed to think perhaps people [and in this case, even our closest friends] question whether we walk our talk all the time. Cooking from scratch can be daunting, especially if you are new to the concept, and you may not always get every recipe “right”, but I urge you to persevere – it really is a lot easier than you may think. And most people, like my friend, actually can’t be bothered.
Back to the flatbreads; we were determined to work out a recipe that was really easy and turns out everytime. After about a year of testing and re-testing, we have finally developed THE easy flatbread that works for us!! This is a vegetarian flatbread- replace the yoghurt with a dairy free product, and this is vegan. This is so versatile; you can finish with spices, and herbs, and add some seeds. The sky is the limit!! Play around and have fun with it!
Flatbreads
Equipment
- Electronic digital scales
- Rolling Pin
- Hand Whisk optional
- Pastry Card optional
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
- 190 grams All purpose flour about 1 cup
- 2 ½ Tablespoons Fine polenta or fine cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 200 ml Greek style or plain yoghurt about 6 3/4 ounces
- Olive oil as required
Instructions
- Gather and weigh your ingredients.In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, polenta, baking powder and salt to combine. Add extra's like spices, seeds or herbs if using. [Note 1]
- Stir in the yoghurt and 5 Tablespoons warm water. Using your hands, mix ingredients until it all comes together. [Note 2] Tip out onto a clean surface adding a dash of water if dry or a pinch of flour if too wet, and knead gently for 1 minute until it is a nice and pliable dough. Mould into a round ball.
- Pour a teaspoon of olive oil into a clean medium mixing bowl. Pop the ball of dough into the bowl, and roll the ball around in the oil, and cover with a tea towel for at least 30 minutes to rest.
- When you are ready to finish the flatbreads, remove the dough from the bowl, sprinkle some polenta on the work surface and gently knead the dough for a couple of minutes, then divide the mixture into 4 pieces, using your pastry card.
- Heat a skillet on medium/medium high heat and brush very lightly with olive oil from the bowl- just enough to "season" the pan. Too much and you'll have fried bread!!
- Oil your rolling pin and add more polenta to the work surface if required. Working with one portion at a time [keep the rest covered with the tea towel] roll out each piece into a round or oblong shape, about 5-6 cm thick [¼ inch]. Carefully place the rolled flatbread into the hot pan [Note 3] . Bubbles will start to form on the top, and when the flatbread is nearly covered in the bubbles [2 - 3 minutes] flip the bread to cook the other side. You'll have golden brown spots on both sides.
- Keep the cooked flatbreads in a clean tea towel until ready to serve. Serve warm or at room temperature.
