Grilled Lebanese Flatbread

Worth noting for the bread bakers in the room, 3 parts flour to 1 part water is by volume, not by weight. By weight it comes out pretty close to pizza dough at around 65% water to flour. This recipe would be 360g flour to 236g water. They turned out lovely when I made them to these weights!

I'd made them several times before and was rather confused having done a lot of bread baking since then when 300g flour and 100g water didn't come out like I'd remembered.

This has become my go-to recipe for quick flatbread. I use 2 cups whole wheat flour to 1 cup regular. I also don't have access to a grill right now, so I have made it in a 450-degree oven, like making pita, and most recently in a very hot non-stick skillet on the stove. For both, I just oil one side of the dough and don't flip it. It's ready when the surface bubbles, which happens within a couple of minutes. You don't want the other side to get hard or crispy. I love the za'atar on top.

Flavor was great but mine came out very chewy (as another reviewer noted). I asked a local bread maker about it and she suggested not kneading after letting it rise. Simply roll out the pieces, then cover with a dish cloth, let it rest for awhile longer, then cook. I'll try that next time, and it is definitely worth repeating, chewiness and all.

Added some olive oil to the dough to increase moisture/flexibility but then did not oil before grilling. Really good and easy.

Thé 20 minute version: in a food processor pulse 2 c flour 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp instant yeast With machine running, Add 1 cup hot tap water and 2-3 tbsp olive oil and process until it forms a ball(15 sec or so). If there’s no ball, add in more flour a couple of tbsp at a time. Tip the dough ball onto the counter (lightly floured or oiled). Cover with a bowl to keep it warm and let rise until doubled, about 15 min. Use a dough scraper to cut into 4 and stretch. Grill. Yum!

Water is definitely off in this recipe. Have to add at least a cup each time. That said, I make it all the time and it is the most forgiving bread recipe I’ve ever made. Freezes perfectly, can bake or grill it. We usually top with sea salt and garlic powder, grill some halloumi to go along, add tahini or chermoula, some pickled red onions, and it makes a great meal!

Made the recipe as is, But did not knead after the rise per another reviewer - rolled out and let rest for 5-10 mins, and they were perfect. Very easy recipe with fabulous results. Will be making again soon!

This is very nearly the pizza dough recipe I formulated years ago and made very nearly every Friday night when my boys were young though it uses half again as much water as indicated. Tonight I made it on the grill with black olives, local feta and fresh oregano served with Claiborne's Muslim Kebabs (NYT Cookbook, 1961) and Carpineto Dogajolo 2013. Ate on the porch. Great for hot weather!

Very fun to roll out with my son since shape doesn't really matter. Coked on our indoor electric griddler since we don't have a grill and they came out amazing! Bloomed the za'atar in the olive oil that I brushed on :-)

Two things need adjustment: 1) the water:flour ratio should be 65:100 (as noted by other reviewers), and 2) knead before proofing, not after because you'll deflate all the trapped gas.

I make this recipe exactly as written, except with whole wheat flour, a couple of times a month. The unused dough can easily be popped in the freezer, with no noticeable degradation upon thawing and grilling. I use one of those Staub grill pans.

Made last night. It is a lot of yeast, but rose fast & the bread didn't carry too much yeasty taste. We used unbleached white mixed with white/wheat flour...because that's all we had left in the house. It started pouring down rain, so we made indoors on a large cast iron griddle. Followed some of the comments & rolled very thin. Topped w/ hummus, spinach & Za'atar & goat sausage sliced thin with a mess of peppers & sliced pickled onion. Twas' delish.

It was very chewy, what went wrong?

You NEED this flatbread, but as much as possible try not to KNEAD this flatbread. The less you do to it the better, if you want a texture that is soft and not too chewy. Great recipe though, we make it several times a year!