Flat Bread

My late husband and I were having dinner with a business associate and friend of his who was originally from India and the flat bread was much better than any I’d ever eaten at any restaurant. I complimented his wife and after dinner, while the husbands retreated to the man cave and their eight children went to the playroom, she took me into the kitchen and taught me how to make it.

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Gluten Free Version:

I have found by trial and error that this recipe also works well with most gluten free flours (except for some reason doesn’t do so well with almond flour). The texture is a little bit chewier sometimes but still okay. Be very cautious to not over knead it. Depending upon the flour used it sometimes helps to add an extra 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons oil.

It helps if you let it stay wrapped in a towel as directed for fifteen to twenty minutes — then right before serving — place one at a time between two damp (moist; not dripping or soggy) paper towels and microwave for about 10 to 25 seconds (depending upon the power of the microwave) to steam them a little extra. Alternately, place one at a time on a mesh splatter screen (used to cover frying pans so the grease doesn’t splatter) over top a pot of boiling water to steam about twenty seconds then flip to other side to steam another 20 seconds. The splatter screen works best for this without making them too soggy.

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Combine warm water, sugar (to feed the yeast), and yeast and set aside.

Oil a bowl with olive oil or spray oil and set aside.

Combine flour and salt.

When yeast is frothy (takes about five minutes) add to flour with 1 tablespoon olive oil and combine.

You may combine by hand, in a stand mixer with dough hook or paddle, or in food processor. Do not over knead; just combine until dough forms.

Form into a ball and place in prepared bowl. Turn to coat on all sides.

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in warm, draft free area for about an hour to double in size.

Plastic wrap works better than a dry or damp lint free towel. However, if oiled well enough (but not too much) then the dough will do okay with a steaming hot damp towel — as long as you keep it steaming hot. It is impossible to wring out using boiled water as it is too hot and I’ve ruined a few damp towels trying to microwave them so I just use plastic wrap for this myself.

Knead on lightly floured surface about 3 to 5 times (seriously, that is all it requires, don’t over knead it or it will become tough) then split and form into balls. The size of the ball really depends upon the size you want your flat bread to be. I usually make four balls per batch.

Recipe is for a small batch but can be increased if desired to make more. For my household I always make at least four or more batches. It goes really fast. They freeze well after they’ve been cooked so really large batches can be made ahead.

Once made the dough will keep if sealed well in oiled plastic wrap or an oiled airtight container for a couple of days. Allow to warm to room temperature completely (covered so doesn’t dry out) before attempting to knead a little and splitting into balls to roll out on a lightly floured surface.

Roll out into flat circles about 1/8 inch thick.

VERY lightly oil a heavy bottomed skillet, preheat pan well, and cook one at a time for about 60 to 90 seconds or until it puffs up then flip it over. Once flipped press down as needed to flatten. They should have lightly golden little brown spots here and there on both sides when done.

Upon removing from skillet, immediately brush or spritz very lightly with olive oil (or melted butter if you prefer) on each side and wrap in lint free towel while still hot from the pan which improves the texture and makes them more pliable. Allow to sit wrapped this way for at least five minutes or until ready to serve.