If you have an hour or so you can make this quick and easy flatbread. It only takes minutes to mix up and an hour and a bit to rise. It takes a few steps but it is really easy if you are around the house. Believe me it is worth it!
Hands on time is only about 10 minutes and rise time is 1 hour plus 10 minutes or so. Oven time is about 13 minutes. So, compared to dough that is kneaded and rises once or twice this is a quick flatbread! (It’s all relative isn’t it!)
The recipe credit goes to Chef Lynn Crawford from her book At Home with Lynn Crawford. Based on this recipe I would love to try them all!
The original recipe calls to grill it which would be awesome but I did it in the oven. The beauty of flat bread is -you can do so many different things with it. A classic presentation is to just sprinkle sesame seeds over the top before baking but I wanted to try the new middle eastern spices I just picked up. Za’atar is an awesome Middle Eastern mixture of sumac, sesame and other spices, and Dhukka, which is an Egyptian spice mix, features hazelnut or almond, sesame and cumin among other things.
You can use za’atar to season all kinds of dishes. So far I have put it on chicken and this flat bread. It is a bit reminiscent of oregano but it is so much more! When I bought it at the middle eastern market they sell it in a big bag because it is such a staple of middle eastern cooking.
Dhukka comes in a much smaller packet. You can dip any rustic bread or flat bread in oil and then the dhukka mix. You can also use it garnish a plain hummus.
The tastes are not particularly strong or hot so don’t be afraid to experiment. When you are in the mood to try something a little different from our North American palate give it a try!
The flat breads below are about to go in the oven. I used a pastry brush to brush olive oil over all of them, and then spread the za’atar over two of them. The other two I just sprinkled with a pinch of sea salt.
This is where you can get creative if you like.. you can add oil & garlic topping or oil and sesame seeds, pesto, finely chopped sun dried tomatoes or finely minced black olives – whatever flavor you might like. Or… you can leave them plain and let the dip you choose shine.
You could also use these as a pita type bread or toast it up later with a filling in a pannini maker.
I think I will have to keep a supply of these on hand.
Fast, Easy Flatbread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 Tbsp instant yeast
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil (plus more for brushing surface)
- 2 Tbsps za'atar or seasoning of your choice (optional)
Instructions
- Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Heat water in a heat proof measuring cup to lukewarm. Do not overheat or the yeast won't work. Add yeast and honey to the water and let stand 5-10 minutes.
- When yeast mixture is foamy add it and the 1/4 cup of olive oil to the flour and salt mix. Stir with a wooden spoon. Work a little bit with your hands, if you need to, to get a uniform moist dough. Add a bit more flour if you need to to make the dough moist but not sticky.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise about 1 hour until doubled in size.
- After the dough has risen preheat oven to 400 degrees and cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Position your oven racks to top third and bottom third of your oven.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll out lightly on a floured surface to desired shape until it is about 1/4 inch thick. (Whatever size/shape fits your baking sheets).
- Preheat oven to 375°. See Note for BBQ instructions.
- Let the rolled dough rest on the pans another 10-15 minutes.
- Brush the tops of the dough with olive oil and then spread za'atar evenly over the oiled top. (Or any other flavors you may wish to add at this point).
- Bake flat breads about 5 minutes, then change the pans from rack to rack and turn them from front to back. Pop any bubbles that may have formed in the bread at this point.
- Bake a further 5-7 minutes until tops are lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
