Health Gazelle: Flat Bread

Flat Bread

We limit our consumption of yeast-leavened foods. So I never buy standard American white bread anymore. We developed a flat bread recipe in the Spring of 2009 which has become a staple of our diet. I tried a number of different fats and oils and found a few that work well. These days, we usually make flat bread with organic butter. Sometimes, we use organic coconut oil. I also found that organic olive oil was okay for limited periods. My son doesn't like it and having bread every day made with olive oil got to be too much for me as well. I used leftover bacon grease once and that was fine with me. I was the only person who ate that bread, so I don't know my son's opinion on that recipe. Lard was a disaster and made us both feel sick.

1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup filtered water
1 3/4 to 2 cups flour
3 tbsp of oil (coconut oil or olive oil)
OR
4 tbsp of fat (butter or bacon grease -- this is 1/2 stick of butter)

If you are using organic butter, you will need to take it out of the fridge and let it warm to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Mix the sea salt and water. It's best if it has a while to sit there and let the salt melt more thoroughly. If you are using oil, you should mix the sea salt and water first so it has a little time for the salt to melt. It's best if there are no granules of salt left.

Mix the flour and oil/fat together thoroughly until you have little beads or crumbs and it has an even texture. Then add in your salt and water mixture. Mix thoroughly until you have dough. Cover your mixing bowl with a plate and let the dough rest for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Coat the dough lightly with flour so you can work with. The dough should be separated into about 12 balls. (I sometimes make as few as 8 larger balls, which is less work and gives bigger pieces of bread.) I usually start by separating it in half, then separate one of the halves in half. Then I make three sections out of that. I flatten the three pieces out onto a plate which is similar in size and shape to the enameled cast iron frying pan I cook them in. This was adapted from a tortilla recipe, so, in theory, you could use a rolling pin and go to the extra effort to make large, thin, round flat bread similar to tortillas. I make them misshapen wedges, each about a third of a circle. It's a lot less work and it takes toppings just fine. My son is usually less particular about this than I am and his bread comes out lumpier and more misshapen. This is sometimes irritating to me if I want to put toppings on them but it's not a show stopper. It is still edible and that's the important part.

Cook on medium heat until browned, then flip and brown the other side. We sometimes eat every slice we make as fast as we can make them. If there is any leftover, we store it in a copper container (like a cookie jar or flour canister) or we store between two glass plates.

Variations

I have had good success with adding a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour to make lightly sweet cinnamon bread. I usually have to add more flour as this gets sticky. (I haven't made this in a while. I think we were using a recipe with 1 1/2 cups flour at the time. So it might work fine to use 2 cups flour, the max amount listed above.)
I also tried adding black pepper and cheese. This was good but did not keep well. It spoiled quickly and I had to throw some of it out.
You could substitute ghee (clarified butter) for the oils/fats listed above. This is on our mental 'to do' list for trying some day. My assumption is that it would be 3 tbsp of ghee because it is similar in consistency to oil. We have had good results with using ghee in other recipes.

Serving Suggestions

Instant pizzas. Top with Pizza Quick Sauce (or your own favorite), parmesan cheese, and pizza toppings of your choice. Heat at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese melts.
Organic butter and/or jelly/jam. I usually have one or two flavors of organic jelly or All Fruit or Simply Fruit at home.
Serve in place of toast with bacon and eggs.
Top with homemade corn salsa and Jack cheese. Heat in a pan until the cheese melts. This is similar to a tortilla or soft shell taco.
We also like eating it plain, hot out of the pan.

28 November 2009

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