Sundried Tomato Flatbread
Maybe I’ve got baguette fatigue.
Lately, I’ve been tearing out recipes for all sorts of variations of flatbreads — Indian naan, Lebanese flatbread, and Italian torta al testo — and when I found this not too long ago on the blogsite of my Austin pal, Lisa (Lisa is Cooking), I printed out the recipe right then and there and planned to make it. Luckily, this didn’t get too covered up by other recipes, and when I made minestrone a couple of weeks ago, I thought that this bread would be a nice little thing to have along with.
Like Lisa, I also didn’t have tomato powder, which is listed in the original recipe, so I used tomato paste instead. I’ve upped the amount of flour in the recipe to account for this additional wet ingredient. I didn’t have white balsamic vinegar, so I used champagne vinegar, and I doubled the amount of sundried tomatoes, and changed a few other things about how to put this together, too, based on a recipe for pizza dough/bread that I’ve been making for years. So I guess I changed a lot.
But the idea came from Lisa, and from the Cookistry website, too, and I’m happy that I found them both so I could have this with my soup.
It’s quick to put together, and just needs about an hour to rise, and then you simply press out the dough with your hands – it’s so cooperative, you don’t even need to use a rolling pin.
Crispy outside with a soft subtle tomato taste, this bread was lovely. X and I didn’t eat them all, so I put the leftovers in the freezer and I’m planning on making mini pizzas with them or using them for sandwiches. Next time I make this, I think that I’ll add fresh herbs — basil or thyme — to the dough, too.
Sundried Tomato Flatbreads
Adapted from a recipe by Cookistry and Lisa is Cooking
Makes 8 six-inch flatbreads
INGREDIENTS
1 package instant yeast
¾ cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a bit more for oiling the bowl for the dough to rest
1 tablespoon champagne or white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (I use Hungarian)
8 sundried tomatoes, chopped
fresh basil or thyme (optional)
1. In the bowl of a mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, put the yeast and warm water and give it a stir to combine. Let rest for about 5 minutes or until foamy.
2. Add the honey, olive oil, champagne vinegar and tomato paste and mix to combine.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sea salt, and paprika. With the mixer running, add this to the wet ingredients, and mix until the dough becomes elastic and less sticky. (I added more flour here, because my dough was really sticky.) Once the dough is the right consistency, add the chopped sundried tomatoes and mix until well blended.
4. Add a little olive oil to a clean, medium bowl and with a paper towel or your clean hands, rub the oil all around the bottom and sides. Put the dough in the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest in a warm, dry place for an hour, at least, or until you’re ready to make the flatbreads.
5. To make the flatbreads, punch down the dough and cut it in 8 even pieces. On a lightly floured board, press out each piece of dough into a circle, as flat as you can with the palm of your hands. (Cowgirl tip: I make one flatbread, put it on the skillet to cook, and then, while one is cooking, I press out another one, and so on.)
6. On an ungreased cast-iron pan or skillet, turn the heat onto medium-high. One by one, put each piece of dough onto the hot skillet, turning it when it begins to brown. Be sure to cook these all the way through. Stack them on the side, and eat immediately — or save and use as sandwich bread, pizza crusts, or whatever else you can dream up.
