A recipe from the weekend as promised:
We were inspired by Nigel Slater. If you got the Observer last Sunday (26/08/2012) you can find the the original in the supplement. Ours were subject to ingredients restraints and the usual kitchen disagreements- both combined to make a number of different versions of the original (all with varying degrees of success).
Ingredients:
for the dough (makes c. 6 flat breads)
* Strong, white bread flour 500g
* Salt 10g
* Instant yeast 10g
* Unsalted butter 30g
* Water 300ml
for the filling
* Roasted veg- Butternut squash, red pepper, onion, garlic, courgette, tomatoes (this is just what we had but you can use pretty much anything you like).
* Cheese- We used Blue cheese but again you have a particular liking for. If I make them again I'm going to give goats cheese a bash.
Method:
* Put the flour in a large, warm mixing bowl, add salt and dried yeast.
* Add the butter and most of the water.
* Get your hands involved and bring the mixture together.
* Gradually add the remaining water until all the flour has been mixed in.
* Knead for about 5-10 mins. until the dough feels smooth and silky.
* Pop it back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise. 1 hour is about long enough but we were hungry so we used a hair dryer to speed up the process (I'm not sure this had any real effect...) ANYWAY the dough should be about double its original size when its done.
* Tip the dough onto a floured surface and 'fold' until all the air has been removed. We found that tearing it onto smaller pieces and squeezing it removed the air faster- you can actually feel the bubbles popping!
* One the air has gone form the dough into 6 rounds.
* Chop what ever you are using for the filling into small pieces- cheese and 'other' filling should be about the same size.
* Make a hollow in each round and add the filling.
* Pinch the dough together around the filling sealing it in (a bit like a pasty).
* place the ball of dough on a floured surface and flatten with a rolling pin (some of the filling might make a bid for freedom at this point, just pinch it back into the dough and roll again if this happens.
* when you have finished rolling your flat breads should look a bit like fat pitta breads (c. 16cm ovals).
*Place your ovals on a piece of baking parchment and leave in a warm place, and leave for 10-15mins. We put ours in the oven on a very low heat.
*Warm a thick based frying pan over a moderate heat.
* Trickle a tiny bit of olive oil in to the pan, and move it around until the base is lightly oiled.
* Place your flat bread/breads (depending on the size of your pan) in the pan and cook.
* Nigel suggests cooking for 3-4 mins. each side. We didn't find this was long enough... both sides should be browned (blackened in places) and the sides should have hardened up a bit. Give them a prod with your fingers to check how they're getting on, and a taste if your still unsure.
* The dough should be cooked through but a little sticky.
* Remove and eat immediately.
To Serve:
We had ours with leafy salad, a few cheery tomatoes and some delicious marinaded pan fried Salmon. I added some additional roasted veg and a good chunk of blue cheese too. Oh and a bottle of wine- naturally. :)
 |
| Making Dough. |
Ingredients:
for the dough (makes c. 6 flat breads)
* Strong, white bread flour 500g
* Salt 10g
* Instant yeast 10g
* Unsalted butter 30g
* Water 300ml
for the filling
* Roasted veg- Butternut squash, red pepper, onion, garlic, courgette, tomatoes (this is just what we had but you can use pretty much anything you like).
* Cheese- We used Blue cheese but again you have a particular liking for. If I make them again I'm going to give goats cheese a bash.
Method:
* Put the flour in a large, warm mixing bowl, add salt and dried yeast.
* Add the butter and most of the water.
* Get your hands involved and bring the mixture together.
* Gradually add the remaining water until all the flour has been mixed in.
* Knead for about 5-10 mins. until the dough feels smooth and silky.
* Pop it back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise. 1 hour is about long enough but we were hungry so we used a hair dryer to speed up the process (I'm not sure this had any real effect...) ANYWAY the dough should be about double its original size when its done.
* Tip the dough onto a floured surface and 'fold' until all the air has been removed. We found that tearing it onto smaller pieces and squeezing it removed the air faster- you can actually feel the bubbles popping!
* One the air has gone form the dough into 6 rounds.
* Chop what ever you are using for the filling into small pieces- cheese and 'other' filling should be about the same size.
* Make a hollow in each round and add the filling.
* Pinch the dough together around the filling sealing it in (a bit like a pasty).
* place the ball of dough on a floured surface and flatten with a rolling pin (some of the filling might make a bid for freedom at this point, just pinch it back into the dough and roll again if this happens.
* when you have finished rolling your flat breads should look a bit like fat pitta breads (c. 16cm ovals).
*Place your ovals on a piece of baking parchment and leave in a warm place, and leave for 10-15mins. We put ours in the oven on a very low heat.
*Warm a thick based frying pan over a moderate heat.
* Trickle a tiny bit of olive oil in to the pan, and move it around until the base is lightly oiled.
* Place your flat bread/breads (depending on the size of your pan) in the pan and cook.
* Nigel suggests cooking for 3-4 mins. each side. We didn't find this was long enough... both sides should be browned (blackened in places) and the sides should have hardened up a bit. Give them a prod with your fingers to check how they're getting on, and a taste if your still unsure.
* The dough should be cooked through but a little sticky.
* Remove and eat immediately.
 |
| Fat little flat breads sizzling in the pan. |
To Serve:
We had ours with leafy salad, a few cheery tomatoes and some delicious marinaded pan fried Salmon. I added some additional roasted veg and a good chunk of blue cheese too. Oh and a bottle of wine- naturally. :)
xXx
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