Saturday, January 12, 2008

Homemade flatbread-How to feed your friends with relish by Joanna Weinburg

Saturday early evening calls for tasty snacks whilst lazing in front of the TV for us! These flatbreads are so easy to make, and you can allow the creative genius within you to run wild, by using a variety of toppings. I choose to use sesame seeds, smoked paprika and parlsey, which are some of my favourite ingredients and therefore, always in the house. I cannot emphasis how great these are, I served them with a smoky aubergine and garlic dip, but they would be great with hummus, or tzatziki.
The amounts below will make you four pitta sized breads.

200g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
1/3 tsp fast-cation dried yeast
1/2 tsp fine salt
170 mls of tepid water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp paprika
salt and pepper
small handful of chopped parsley leaves

Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the water and oil bit by bit, massaging it between your fingers.
Knead the dough firmly for 5-10 minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic. Set aside in a covered bowl (a tea towel will do) and leave for at least 45 minutes.
Shortly before you want to eat, preheat the oven to 230oC.
Knock the air out of the dough by giving it a quick knead. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls and roll out into circles on a floured surface. Grease a baking sheet with some olive oil and place the rolled out breads onto it. Sprinkle the paprika, sesame seeds and salt and pepper.
Bake for 6-7 minutes, the bread with bubble up and begin to color when ready.

6 comments:

vonsachsen said...

Tina, I wish you good luck with your project and I will follow it with great interest :)
Love the photo about your bookshelf, it´s always fun to take a peek at other people´s books...ummm...may I ask you what the thick black and red one is, I think it´s the second from left on the lower shelf ?
I might try this flatbread recipe, I must say though that I don´t have any luck with either flatbreads or Naan bread :(

vs
xx

Tina said...

Hi VS,

Lovely to 'see' you. That cook book is called the Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Recipes from the Heart by Pauline Nguyen, it has some wonderful recipes and also scripts about her family's life in Vietnam and how they left.

As for the flatbread, I usually am not a bread maker at all, but this was so so easy.

Tina xx

Thinking About Food said...

That flatbread looks really good Tina!

hungryandfrozen said...

Lovely photos, Tina! Those flatbreads look seriously good :)

Georgina Ingham | CulinaryTravels said...

Good luck with your blog Tina :) It's looking fabulous. Lots of work ahead on this great sounding & looking project.

George xx

Anna's kitchen table said...

Tina, the flatbreads look wonderful! I'm enjoying your blog!
xx