Bread Machine Recipes: Flatbread

I love flat breads. They make eating some things so much easier! They mop up the juice from a curry, they're an excellent carrier of houmous or baba ghanoush, they hold falafels firmly in place, they can be torn apart and shared. They are perfect for a relaxed dinner with friends. I often make rough roti with flour and water mixed to a dough and then fried in a very hot dry pan but I thought this time I'd try yeasted flat breads. They were a big success.

They had a more complex flavour than our usual flour and water creations and weren't much more difficult to make with the use of a bread machine. They can be a bit tricky to roll as the stretchy dough often takes it upon itself to shrink back but do persevere. They don't have to be perfectly round...mine certainly weren't!

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 tsp celery salt
1tbsp olive oil
3 cups white bread flour
1tsp yeast

Method
Place the ingredients into the bread pan of your machine and set it to the dough program.
When complete transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide into walnut sized pieces.
Roll and stretch each ball into a thin disc (the thinner the better)
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and when almost smoking hot, place the first disc in the pan to cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. It will puff up beautifully and turn a gorgeous golden brown. Turn the dough carefully with some tongs.
Repeat with the rest of the discs keeping the cooked ones under a clean tea towel and keep warm until the others are cooked.
Serve however you wish!

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Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush is an Arabic dish. It's made from roasted aubergine (egg plant to you American types) and seasonings and is so simple. Unfortunately it's one of those foods that isn't particularly photogenic (the fading light didn't help either). I apologise for that but it is amazingly tasty.



I don't have specific quantities for this one as the seasonings you add will depend on your personal taste and the size of aubergine you are using. It's open to a wide range of variation and I've shared some of these in the links below.

I used
1 medium aubergine
Lemon juice
Plenty of salt and pepper
1tbsp of tahini
A small clove of crushed garlic.

You need to bake your aubergine (prick it all over fisrt) in the oven until it's really soft (30 minutes + at 180C). When it's cooled enough to be able to handle it, you need to scrape the soft insides out of the skin and put them in a jug or bowl. Add the other seasonings and mash/puree (I used a stick blender to puree) and taste. Add more of whatever it needs and taste again.

If I was making this again, I'd use 2-4 aubergines for a higher yield. This was mostly an experiment as we'd never had it before but now I know that we like it I can make a larger batch.

Serve with pitta breads or flat breads, salad, falafels...whatever you like really. I think it'd be delicious spread insteasd of butter in a granary sandwich or roll with ham and salad. The possibilities are endless!

Dutch Girl Cooking has this recipe for a hummus and baba ghanoush mix. Beautiful step by step pictures too.

This recipe from the Merrilees Parker at the Good Food Channel uses natural yogurt and mint to lighten the dip up.

Finally this recipe from Vegetarian.About.com uses chili and lime to give the dip a mexican twist.

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Fat Free Falafels

I love falafels. I think I first tried them when I was vegetarian (yeah...I never told you about that did I?) and I fell in love with them. I even managed to convince Al (a hardcore carnivore) that they were a good thing.



The little spiced balls of chickpeas, onion and carrot (in this recipe at least) are fragrant and delicious. These ones are baked in the oven rather than fried so it makes them a little drier than usual. I always serve these with a dip (I made baba ghanoush to go with these, the recipe for that will follow) and plenty of salad. They are also delicious in pitta bread or flat bread (we made some flatbreads too - again, recipe will follow).


This recipe required you to leave the mixture overnight or for at least a few hours. I can't recommend that enough really. The resting time enables the flavours to mingle and really come together to make the overall falafel really tasty. It's worth the extra planning.

Ingredients
1 can chick peas
1 carrot, grated
1 small onion (1/2 a large), chopped
1 1/2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 clove garlic, crushed
1tsp fresh ginger, grated
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
1tsp ground coriander
1 small egg

Method
Place all the ingredients except the egg into a food processor and pulse until blended but with some texture.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and add the egg.
Mix everything thoroughly and chill in the fridge for 6-8 hours (or overnight)
Shape the mixture into balls (should make around 25), spray with a little cookign spray and bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 15-20 minutes.

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