Friday, August 20, 2010

Double-Tomato Skillet Flatbreads

These flatbreads are a pretty orange color; perfect to impress company and easy enough to make any day for sandwich wraps - or to go with dinner. The tomato flavor is there, but it's not overwhelming, so these won't clash with other dishes on the menu.

But of course, this recipe is infinitely adaptable to make it mesh better with your meal. Add any herbs or spices you want. For most, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon would be right.

The sundried tomatoes I used were the ones that are sold in grocery stores near the dried fruits. They're soft and pliable, and in the package I bought, each piece was half of a tomato. so I used eight of those pieces.

 I also saw smoked sundried tomatoes, which looked interesting. I'm sure those would be fine as well.

My instructions have the sundried tomatoes added at the end of processing, since the food processor could break them up too much if they were added earlier and I wanted larger pieces. If you prefer smaller bits, add them earlier and/or chop them finer.

If you really want a smokey flavor, use smoked paprika instead of the sweet paprika in the recipe. If you want a little kick, use a sharp paprika. The choices are yours.

I made eight flatbreads about 6 inches in diameter with from this recipe, If you wanted smaller flatbreads for appetizers, you could keep dividing and make 24 or more smaller portions. One thing to keep in mind is that these don't expand in diameter when they cook, but they do get a bit thicker, so roll them a thinner than what you want to end up with.

You can find tomato powder at spice shops online if you can't find it locally. Tomato paste could be substituted, but it won't have as much tomato flavor, and you might need to use a bit less water or add just a little flour.

Double-Tomato Skillet Flatbreads

2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato powder
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
3/4 cup cool water
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped

Put the flour, tomato powder, yeast, sugar, salt, and paprika in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the dough blade. Pulse a few times to combine.

Add the vinegar to the water and pour that through the feed tube of the processor while it is running, pouring just as fast as the liquid can be absorbed. When it forms a ball, stop the processor and see if the dough is properly elastic. It should be completely smooth and silky, and very elastic. It might be a little sticky; that's fine. If it's not stretchy enough,  process again in thirty-second increments, checking it each time. If the dough starts getting warm, stop for a few minutes to let it cool down.

When the dough is properly elastic, add the sundried tomatoes and pulse a few times, then add the oil through the feed tube while the processor is running. Stop when the oil has been incorporated.

Leave the food processor covered and let the dough rest for at least ten minutes, or up to 30 minutes.

Flour your work surface and knead the dough briefly, then divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten each ball into a disk.


Heat a cast iron skillet or comal over medium heat - no oil.

Roll the first disk to about 6 inches in diameter.


Place the dough on the preheated pan and cook until browned on the bottom, about one minute. The browning will be spotty and dappled. That's what's supposed to happen. (If the flatbreads are burning in that minute, turn the heat down.)


Meanwhile, bubbles will begin rising on the top surface.


When the bottom is browned, flip the flatbread over and cook for another 20-30 seconds.

Remove the flatbread from the pan and put it on a clean kitchen towel and cover with the ends of the towel.

You should be able to roll a new flatbread as the previous one cooks. Pile them up on the towel and keep them covered as they cool.

These are best served fresh, but they're also good cold or reheated briefly on a hot pan.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.
Yum

2 comments:

lisa is cooking said...

This sounds like a fantastic flatbread. I have to try these! I'm not sure if I'll be able to find tomato powder, but the double tomato flavor sounds great.

Mimi said...

Wow! These flatbreads sound really good. They would make a great chicken wrap.

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