Soup Sides: Whole Wheat Flat Breads
I’ve never had much luck with the alchemy of what happens in the oven like a lot of people who consider themselves bakers. I consider myself more of a cook, and a constant experimenter, tweaking things here and there as I stir and taste. But I do like bread, and the process of making dough, and kneading, and the smell of flour as it changes from something pasty to something puffy and mouth-watering.
That’s why I’m a fan of flat breads of all kinds, from Indian chapatti to Mexican tortillas to Chinese pancakes. What all of these have in common is that they’re essentially flour and water with a little oil (or butter) and salt. The tortilla recipe I’ve been making lately has a little baking powder in it as well to make it puff up more, but that’s not strictly necessary. What matters is that flour gets mixed with hot water, kneaded a little, and the dough is allowed to rest, stretch out, and breathe for a few minutes (or longer, if you have it). The breads are rolled out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, and cooked in a dry, ungreased frying pan on both sides until bubbles appear. And that’s it. It can be messy at times, and takes longer than opening a package of bread, but at 99 cents/pound for flour, and nothing for water, these sure are easy on your budget and don’t require much planning ahead.
These flat breads are also wonderfully versatile. The chapatti are delicious with curries, soups, and also hummus and cheese. The tortillas are wonderful served warm with some chicken, beef, or pork stew, and with some vegetables or beans.
You’ll notice that these flat breads have a substantial amount of whole wheat flour. I like to use Gleason’s Grains whole wheat bread flour from the Bulk department, for its high gluten content and nice, nutty flavor. You don’t want to use whole wheat pastry flour, also available in Bulk, because the lower gluten content is better suited for muffins and scones, pancakes and cookies – anything that’s not kneaded, in other words.
