Homemade Flatbreads Recipe

During the school year I try to get the kids to have their dinner by 5.30pm at the latest. It stops too much snacking when they get home from school and it means that they get hot food on cold days (not that we’ve had many of those recently). All three of the kids have conspired against me these past few weeks and each finished at a different time. That will change very soon thank goodness! These flatbreads are the perfect meal to prepare in advance. I can mix up the dough in the morning, cover and forget about it. I can also make the filling well before I need to serve it up.

The kids would happily set up camp beside me in the kitchen and eat the bits that I make as they come straight out of the cooker/pan. Yesterday I baked a loaf of bread, and once sliced, they each made sandwiches out of it. When a dear friend arrived and I gave the end of the loaf to her to try as I value her opinion, they all gave out yards that I give away their food. Honestly, they don’t know how flipping lucky they are!

All I can say is ‘roll on next week’ when I can have unlimited opportunities to sort socks in peace*

[recipe title=”Homemade Flatbreads” servings=”6″ time=”4 hours” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

• 400g strong white flour
• 1 tsp (approximately 7g) dried yeast
• 1 tsp dried garlic/garlic powder
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme
• 125g tub live organic natural yoghurt (full fat) note, hold onto the tub

Method

In advance, I’m warning you that you can make this flatbread recipe without a mixer, but goodness a mixer makes the world of difference in speed, and gives your arms a break. I used a stand mixer here and that’s how I’ve written the instructions.

Connect a dough hook to your mixer and fill the bowl with the flour, yeast, garlic, salt, and dried herb of your choice (I like oregano). Loosely mix together all these dry ingredients with a fork so that they are combined. Spoon the yoghurt into the bowl, then take the tub that the yoghurt came in to the brim with cold water, pour this cold water into the mixing bowl as well.

Knead the ingredients until they all become a ball of dough. It will take some time, and at the start you’ll doubt whether all the dry ingredients will combine. Persist! If, after 7 minutes of kneading with a dough hook, it hasn’t drawn together completely add a tablespoon of water and knead again. Once you have a ball of dough, knead for approximately 10 minutes until smooth.

Lightly oil a large bowl and tip the dough into the bowl then cover with cling film. Set the dough to one side in a warm spot to rest for 3 hours. Once the flatbread dough has doubled in size, knock back the air by pushing down on the dough. Next, divide the dough into golf-ball-sized lumps. Dust a clean surface with a little flour, and heat a dry frying pan to medium-high (this is level 7 of 9 on my hob).

Roll the golf-ball-lumps as thin as you can once the frying pan comes to heat. Cook on the frying pan for 3 minutes on each side until they are golden-brown in spots. Serve warm with salad, dips, or even your main family meal on top.[/recipe]

The spiced lamb here is a speedy way to get a filling for the flatbreads. I use stewing lamb pieces that I shred into tiny pieces with a sharp knife (I discard sinew and fat), then dry-fry in a non stick pan on a high heat until they turn crisp. Then turn the pan down to medium and add a little bit of oil, 1 finely sliced onion, and a teaspoon each of smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion salt. Once the onion begins to soften I return the lamb to the pan, add a sliced pepper, and a cup of mixed frozen beans (I get this from M&S and it’s the bizzo).

If you’re interested the yoghurt was from Glenisk, do check out their new reduced sugar bio organic range. Not because they recently sent me samples (which were very much appreciated) but because it’s the yoghurt I buy for baking and eating, and it’s a big hit with the kids. The 7yo, who can be fussy about dairy products, adores their high protein vanilla yoghurt.
*I will not be taking advantage of the kids all being in school for a decent amount of time to sort socks, I assure you. I’ll be recipe testing, blogging, and working my socks off. The kids can sort their own socks, it’s a vital life skill where they can practice fine motor skills and visual pairing. Even the teenager needs to work on that one!