Flat Bread

Pita, Naan, Flat Bread, Tortilla, etc...

I can truly take credit for this creation, because I came upon it by fortunate chance while trying to make a tortilla recipe from memory. It is everything I have ever looked for in a flat bread recipe: it is super soft and flexible and doesn't break or crack when rolled up burrito style. When made thicker is is divine served with whipped honey butter, hummus, or even with a bowl of chili.

This recipe can be used to make any of the above mentioned types of flat bread providing that you roll out your dough to the desired thickness for each type of bread. Naan, Pita and Flat breads are all thicker types of bread. The only thing that separates them is their respective traditional shapes. Naan is teardrop in shape, Flat bread is square or rectangular, and Pita is oval shaped. For Tortillas simply roll out your dough into a thin circle.

* This recipe works best with 2 people, one to roll out the dough and the other to cook them. My husband is my cooker...see if you can hook your hubby into becoming your cooker! It can be done alone...but don't let your shaped dough stack on top of each other for too long before cooking because they can stick together and they lose their coldness which starts to break down the cold shortening.

Makes 11 medium sized breads; 15 mins prep not including fridge time; takes about 10 mins to cook all 11 breads.

You will need:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour or bread flour

2 tsps. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tbsps. sugar or splenda

1/3 cup COLD shortening

2-3 cups COLD water

1 cup of additional flour for rolling out

1 cup of reserved flour for kneading

1 tbsp. vegetable oil for seasoning the pan

1 large cast iron skillet * ( this recipe cannot be made on a non-stick pan, it requires a thick pan that evenly distributes heat and seares the bread on the outside while steaming it from within )

Directions:

1 In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients except the 1 cup of flour reserved for rolling out your dough, and mix well using a whisk.

2 Add the cold shortening and using a pastry knife, cut the shortening into the flour mix until it resembles course crumbs.

3 Add the cold water half a cup at a time while mixing it with a fork. You want to form a very sticky dough. This may take more or less of the water called for.

4 Add a little of the reserved flour for kneading, and knead the dough while alternatively adding some flour until your dough is no longer sticky to the touch and smooth and soft in texture. It should be very soft to work with.

5 Cover and place your dough in the fridge to rest for 10-15 minutes.

6 On a floured work surface break off 2 inch piece of dough and form in to a ball. With a rolling pin roll out your dough to your desired thickness and shape. Remember that this recipe has rising ingredients and it will puff up and thicken during cooking. A dough that is 1/4 of an inch thick will rise to be about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick. The second time making this recipe will be easier to determine desired thickness. Once you have your shape, slap the dough between your hands a few times, like tossing it back and forth, to improve elasticity and to remove excess flour.

7 Prepare your cast iron skillet with your tbsp. of oil. Rub it in using a paper towel and preheat your pan to med-high heat. You are only using the oil for the first time, these breads are cooked in a dry pan, they are not fried.

8 Once your pan is preheated, lay your dough in the center of the pan and cook on each side for 25-30 seconds. It cooks very fast and you should see it puffing up. Like with pancakes your first two will look less pretty than the rest- but they will still taste good! Since every stove is different, you may need to adjust your burner to the necessary temperature. You want to sear the bread on the outside and steam it on the inside, so you need a good level of heat to do so, but without burning your bread. If you see burnt spots- black not brown, you should lower your heat a notch.

These can be served alone or with chili, in a pita salad or with burritos as suggested in pictures above.

French Cinnamon Brioches

French Cinnamon Brioche ( rolls )

These cinnamon rolls are melt in your mouth soft...you will have a hard time eating only one! I am very picky when it comes to breads and pastries. They have to be soft and fresh tasting for me to eat them, and because of my pickiness I will try recipe after recipe to find only the best and softest bread recipes. I first tasted this recipe when a friend of ours made them over 6 years ago for a potluck dinner. He had gotten the recipe from a lady in France and I asked him repeatedly for over 6 years ( he moved a year after I tasted them ) to give me the recipe, and he always said he would give it to me, but never did!lol...So, when we he was down this way for awhile last year, I again asked him for the recipe and told him how long I had been waiting for this recipe...and the night before he left he finally gave it to me!

And now without you having to wait as long as I did for this delectable pastry, I give it to you! Bon appétit!

*A small note before you begin: The original recipe given to me doesn't specify the type of flour. I used all purpose flour the first time I made this, however, I didn't think it came out soft enough. Since then I have played with different flours and talked with a professional baker about what flour ratios give different results and I tried the recipe again with Pastry flour and Bread flour ( pastry flour is for a lighter result and bread flour is high in gluten which gives more elasticity). The result was very soft and enjoyable. I encourage anyone baking breads, cakes, etc. to try using the appropriate flours to enhance your results!

*30 mins prep. not including the rising times. 15-20 mins on the oven at 350.

You will need:

Dough

3/4 cup of shortening or butter melted * ( I used margarine because I was out of shortening and I didn't want to use butter since it gives a crispier texture )

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsps. salt

2 eggs

2 pkgs. yeast ( a pkg. of yeast is equivalent to 2 1/4 tsps. I used instant yeast )

2 cups warm water

6 cups of flour ( all purpose is fine, however, I used a ratio of 4 cups of Pastry flour and 2 cups of Bread flour )

Spread

2/3 cup sugar or brown sugar ( I used brown sugar...I think I will try sugar next time, it might be sweeter )

1/4-1/3 cup cinnamon

Mix and set aside

Butter Icing

1/4 cup of melted butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. milk

whisk together

Directions for the dough:

1 In a medium sized bowl proof your yeast by dissolving the 2 pkgs. of yeast in the 2 cups of warm water and adding a tbsp. of sugar. Let it sit for 10-15 mins. until is frothy on top.

2 While the yeast is proofing, in a large bowl, combine the melted shortening, sugar and salt. Mix well and then add the 2 eggs. If your shortening is hot make sure to whisk in the eggs quickly and continuously to avoid scrambling your eggs.

3 Add the proofed yeast mixture to the egg mixture and mix well.

4 Add the 6 cups of flour all at once and combine the wet and dry ingredients well, until a nice sticky dough forms. Despite the fact that you have added all the flour at once, I found that the dough came together rather easily. The original recipe suggested adding one cup of the yeast mixture at a time...but it doesn't combine well when you do this. It becomes clumpy. All at once worked really well and it was well combined.

5 The original recipe calls to cover the bowl with plastic wrap and to put in the fridge to rise and double in size for 4 hours or overnight, this is recommended and does make a difference, however, I needed the recipe for a dinner party and didn't have 4 hours, so I covered the bowl with a clean dish towel and left it on the stove top for 2 hours. It doubled in size just fine.

6 Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide the dough in half.

7 On a floured work surface, knead the dough for a minute or two and then form into a ball. Roll out the ball of dough into a large rectangle that is about 1/4-1/2 an inch thick. Make sure that the rectangle of dough is lightly floured underneath so that when you roll it later it won't stick to the work surface. Preheat the oven to 350.

8 Using a pastry brush, brush a light layer of melted butter all over the surface of the rectangle. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the entire surface of the rectangle. I like to rub it in.

9 Roll up the rectangle starting from the short end and pinch the seam shut all along the length of the roll. Turn the roll seam side down and using a knife or pastry chopper cut the roll into 1-1 1/2 inch rounds.

10 Repeat steps 7-9 with other half of dough and proceed to step 11.

11 Transfer the rounds, swirl side down into a greased cake pan or casserole dish. Leave 1/2 an inch between rounds. When they rise they should all be touching. Cover both pans with a dish towel and let rise till doubled ( about 2 hours ).

12 Bake at 350 for 13-20 mins. Mine were ready after 13-14 mins. They should be slightly golden and spring back when touched. Cool off for 20 mins and then ice while still warm.

Directions for icing:

Combine melted butter and powdered sugar until it forms a paste. Add 1 tsp. of milk at a time until you have a medium thick consistency. Taste the icing and add more powdered sugar and milk alternatively until you have a balanced taste of sugar and butter. Use all of it on the rolls...it will seep down into all of the crevices of the swirls and enhance every inch of them!