Flatbread: Recipe

These are great, easy, fun little breads to make. You don't even need an oven.

King Arthur bread flour, if you haven't tried it, is really awesome in this recipe (and many others). It's practically becoming a cult with some home-bakers and I can see why. Any type of flour will make a good flatbread, though.

Flatbread

1 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp or 1 package yeast
About 2 1/2 to 3 cups bread flour (or 50-50 mixture of whole wheat and bread flours)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix the water, yeast, and 1/2 cup of the flour in a large bowl.

2. Give the mixture at least 15 minutes to get a bit frothy. You can also leave the mixture for several hours (do this step in the morning and make the bread in the evening) to give the bread that "sourdough" taste.

3. Stir in the baking powder, olive oil and salt. Stir in the flour until the dough holds together. If the dough is stiff and shaggy and won't hold together, there's too much flour and you need to add more water. If the dough is sticky and goopy, you need to add more flour.

4. Knead the dough for about five minutes. Put it back in the bowl, cover with the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise for a little more than an hour.

5. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces, and roll each piece out with a rolling pin into 8-10" flat discs.

6. Heat a cast iron skillet over very high heat. When it's extremely hot, throw on one of the dough circles. When it develops puffy bubbles and a few brown spots on the bottom, turn it and cook it the same way on the other side. When it looks done--it should be puffy and cooked-looking and cooked-smelling, with several tasty-looking brown spots--take it off the heat and start on the next.

7. Serve hot. These are great with hummus. You can also freeze them for later. Top them with sauce and cheese for a great instant "personal-size" pizza.