Quick Stove-Top Flatbread Recipe

By lorik

Ingredients

• 1 1 1 cup lukewarm water, divided
• 2 1/4 2 1/4 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 2 2 teaspoons raw or granulated sugar
• 2 2 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for kneading & rolling)
• 1 1 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for the bowl

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from food52.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a cup, combine 3/4 cup of the water with all of the yeast and sugar. Stir together, then set aside for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, place the flour and salt. Stir together, then make a well in the middle. Pour the water-yeast mixture into the well along with the olive oil. Mix together until it forms a shaggy dough. If the dough seems too dry, dribble in the remaining 1/4 cup of water and mix together.

Scrape the contents of the bowl out onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with a bit more flour. Knead for around 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft. Oil the bowl and place the dough into it. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 6 roughly equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Using flour as needed, roll each ball of dough out into a roughly 8-inch circle (no rolling pin? Use a thick glass or a wine bottle!). Flour each circle well on both sides and cover with a kitchen towel so the dough doesn't dry out.

Heat a skillet over a medium flame, then place a circle of dough into it. Leave it to bubble and rise until golden underneath (1 to 2 minutes), then flip using kitchen tongs or an offset spatula. Cook on the other side until the dough looks dry with darkened spots. Remove from the skillet and wrap in a clean kitchen towel while you cook the others.

Super quick Flatbreads:
Fill a mixing bowl with some flour, let’s say a cups worth, and make an indent in the center of the pile. It should resemble the peak of a dormant volcano.

Next, slowly drizzle cold water into the indent with one hand as you use your other hand to continuously mix the liquid into the flour, keeping your fingers tight, like a bird’s beak, as you stir. Incorporate until all the flour is gone, absorbed into the water. The dough should be goopy but not too sticky. It should come away from the sides of the bowl enough to be rolled into a cohesive ball. Keep flour and water on hand to keep adjusting proportions as you see fit.

This here operation isn’t about precise measurements, but rather, eyeballing it. Keep adding a splash of water or a palmful of flour until you find yourself with a dough you can control, not one that controls you.

Portion your dough into balls the size of clementines and flatten each out between floured palms until they're about the size and thickness of a CD-ROM.
Heat a pan on high with a bit of oil. Lay a tiny bread in the hot pan, sprinkle with salt, and cook until just crisped—or even slightly charred (it shouldn't take more than 60 seconds per side). Continue with the rest of the tiny breads. (A cup of flour should make about 4 breads.)