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.