[Sca-cooks] Flatbread (was: Cloche Oven Results)

[david friedman]

Kristianne wrote:

>I do love experimenting and if anyone has a fabulous flat bread recipe I'd
>love to hear it, crawled through the florilegium and Cariadoc's site but
>didn't see a flatbread recipe.

It's actually the first recipe in the current version of the
Miscellany, from a late-period Indian source. Note that there is an
old version of the Miscellany webbed in html on Greg Lindahl's site,
and the current (9th) edition webbed in pdf on Cariadoc's site; you
may have been looking at the old one.

Bread
Ain i Akbari

There is a large kind, baked in an oven, made of 10 s. flour; 5 s.
milk; 1 1/2 s. ghi; 1/4 s. salt. They make also smaller ones. The
thin kind is baked on an iron plate. One ser will give fifteen, or
even more. There are various ways of making it; one kind is called
chapati, which is sometimes made of khushka; it tastes very well when
served hot. [see p. 6 of Miscellany 9th edition for units]

1 lb = 3 1/2 c flour
1/2 lb = 1 c milk
2.4 oz ghee (clarified butter) = 3/8-1/2 c
.4 oz salt = 1/2 T

Melt the ghee, stir it into the flour with a fork until there are
only very small lumps. Stir in the milk until thoroughly mixed, knead
briefly. Put the ball of dough in a bowl covered by a damp cloth and
leave for at least an hour. Then knead the dough until it is smooth
and elastic, adding a little extra flour if necessary. Either:

Take a ball of dough about 2" in diameter, roll it out to about a 5"
diameter circle. Cook it in a hot frying pan without grease. After
about 2 minutes it should start to puff up a little in places. Turn
it. Cook another 2 minutes. Turn it. Cook another 2 minutes. It
should be done. The recipe should make about 11 of these. Or ...

Take a ball of dough about 3" in diameter. Roll it down to a circle
about 7" in diameter and 1/4" thick. Heat a baking sheet in a 450°
oven. Put the circle of dough on it in the oven. Bake about 6
minutes; it should be puffing up. Turn it over. Bake about 4 minutes
more. Take it out. The recipe should make about 5 of these.

Elizabeth/Betty Cook