Sesame and Flax Flatbreads

Most of the time when I make flatbreads they're made entirely from white flour. Sure, I add flavors and herbs, but I don't usually don't get too creative with the flour-like components. I don't know why that is. But this time I decided it add flavors via seeds - specifically flax and sesame.

To me, flax and sesame have similar flavors, so I thought that adding flax meal and whole sesame seeds would add more flavor without having those flavors compete with each other.

The additions also added color and texture. There were flecks of dark bits in the lighter dough, and when it was cooked, there were pockmarks rather than a smooth texture. It resembled some sort of stone or maybe a nubby fabric rather than the typical smooth-surfaced flatbread.

The flavor was slightly nutty from the seeds, but not overwhelming. These are great with hummus, or for wraps, or just as a bread to go with dinner. And, like any pita-like flatbread, you can cut them into triangles and bake them on low temperature until they're completely dry and crisp to make chips for snacking or dipping or topping with interesting things.

For a change, I decided to make these in the food processor. Of course, you can use your stand mixer or knead by hand.

Sesame and Flax Flatbreads

2 cups (9 ounces) bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1 ounce) flax meal
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounce) sesame seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
3/4 cup cool water

Put the flour, yeast, salt, flax meal, sesame seeds, and olive oil in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the dough blade. Pulse several times until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

With the food processor running, add the water in a slow stream, as fast as the flour can absorb it. Continue processing until the dough is smooth - or relatively so. It will be bumpy from the additions, but the dough itself should be smooth and tacky rather than sticky, and it should be elastic.

Form the dough into a ball, drizzle it with a bit of olive oil to coat the surface, and put the dough into a bowl. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Flour your work surface lightly. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it briefly, then divide it into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk shape.

Heat a heavy pan - case iron is ideal - on medium heat.

Roll your first disk to about 6 inches in diameter. Place it in the pan and cook on the first side until it begins to brown on the bottom and it begins to bubble and puff, about 1-2 minutes.

Turn the flatbread over and cook on the second side for another 30-60 seconds until it browns a bit on the second side. It's fine it it's spotty from cooking on the "bubbles." Sometimes you'll have a lot of smaller bubbles, and sometimes the bubbles will combine and the whole flatbread will puff like a balloon.

As each flatbread is done, stack them and cover them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm as you cook the rest.

Serve warm, or you can cool them and serve at room temperature.

If you do make chips, beware. They're addictive.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.