Easy Flat Bread
Flat bread is easy to make: Just toss together some flour, water, salt and oil/fat, fry it, and enjoy.
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 it. The dough should be separated into about 12 balls. (I sometimes made as few as 8 larger balls, which is less work and gives bigger pieces of bread.)
I usually started by separating it in half, then separated one of the halves in half. Then I made three sections out of that. I flattened the three pieces out onto a plate which was similar in size and shape to the enameled cast iron frying pan I cooked 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 made them misshapen wedges, each about a third of a circle. It's a lot less work and it takes toppings just fine. My son was usually less particular about this than I was and his bread came out lumpier and more misshapen. This was sometimes irritating to me if I wanted to put toppings on them but it was not a show stopper. It was still edible and that's the important part.
Cook on medium heat until browned, then flip and brown the other side. We sometimes ate every slice we made as fast as we could make them. If there was any leftover, we stored them in a copper container (like a cookie jar or flour canister) or we stored them between two glass plates.
Variations
We usually made flat bread with organic butter. Sometimes, we used organic coconut oil. I also found that organic olive oil was okay for limited periods. I used leftover bacon grease once and that was fine with me. Lard was a disaster and made me 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)
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 it. The dough should be separated into about 12 balls. (I sometimes made as few as 8 larger balls, which is less work and gives bigger pieces of bread.)
I usually started by separating it in half, then separated one of the halves in half. Then I made three sections out of that. I flattened the three pieces out onto a plate which was similar in size and shape to the enameled cast iron frying pan I cooked 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 made them misshapen wedges, each about a third of a circle. It's a lot less work and it takes toppings just fine. My son was usually less particular about this than I was and his bread came out lumpier and more misshapen. This was sometimes irritating to me if I wanted to put toppings on them but it was not a show stopper. It was still edible and that's the important part.
Cook on medium heat until browned, then flip and brown the other side. We sometimes ate every slice we made as fast as we could make them. If there was any leftover, we stored them in a copper container (like a cookie jar or flour canister) or we stored them between two glass plates.
Variations
- I had good success with adding a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour to make lightly sweet cinnamon bread. I usually had 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.
- 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.
We usually made flat bread with organic butter. Sometimes, we used organic coconut oil. I also found that organic olive oil was okay for limited periods. I used leftover bacon grease once and that was fine with me. Lard was a disaster and made me feel sick.
