Turkish Flat-bread
This recipe came from the
Bob's Red Mill Baking Book by John Ettinger. It has tons of great baking recipes - breads, cookies, cakes etc. As well as information about the variety of different grains that Bob's Red Mill offers. Barley, for example, has been eaten by humans for millennium, or millet is so old it could have been eaten by dinosaurs.
So, overall, my current goal is to make healthy food featuring whole local ingredients. Ideally, quickly. But there is something about making bread (or trying to) that I find really satisfying. It helps me feel connected to the past. Bread making is not quick. I haven't dedicated myself to it as much as I would like to, but goals are for making progress towards, not for achieving instantaneously.
The basic idea for this recipe is to make a flat bread dough, spread a filling meat, vegetables and herbs, over the top, and then supposedly bake it and role it up. I am not sure if I failed to role the dough out thin enough, or if I baked it too long, but I was not able to role it up. It was tasty regardless.
Even though it is now mid July (the height of being able to actually get local produce - the Farmers Market is open) I actually made this meal sometime back in February. For this reason the only local ingredient is the hamburger. The meat came from
PD Farms in Elgin, OR. It is grass fed and sustainably raised. Grass fed meat has so many benefits I am not going to list them. But you can read about them
here.
For 8 Flat-breads
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 cups flour (I use whole wheat but I am sure unbleached or a mix would also be good)
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For Topping
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. ground lamb or beef (ideally grass fed :))
2 garlic cloves (I actually got these from PD Farms as well)
dash red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
I also added a can of chopped tomatoes so that there are more vegetables - but this is optional
To make flat breads - Mix water, yeast, and a dash of honey or other sweetener and let stand about five minutes until the yeast looks foamy. Add all other ingredients. Add the flour slowly mixing it in until you have a stiff dough. Knead Dough for about 10 minutes. I've read that you should knead until it's about the texture of an earlobe.
Let sit for one hour
While the dough is sitting you can make the
filling
Heat oil in a fairly large pan. Add the meat and onions and saute until meat is cooked through and onions are translucent. I unusually remove
some of the grease with a spoon at this point. Add all other ingredients and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. Done
OK back to the
flat-bread Punch dough down and divide into four equal pieces. Roll each piece out thin and let rest for 10 minutes. Brush olive oil on dough and spread filling over the top. Place in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
What do you think? Could you get them to roll up?
