Recipe: 8 steps to the best flatbread of your life

Erin Groot, from the wonderful cookbook Easy Middle Eastern, loves flatbread. Erin: “Flatbread is always good to put on the table. Delicious for dipping, or to use as a wrap or pita bread. The dough doesn’t need to rise, so this easy bread is ready quickly.”

Because you can vary endlessly with this delicious and easy bread, we’re also sharing the spiced version. For this, follow the section Making the spiced version? The rest of the flatbread recipe is the same.

How to make the flatbread

• Mix the flour with the salt.
• Add the water little by little while kneading.
• Add the olive oil.
• Knead for 10 minutes until an elastic ball forms. If it remains too sticky, add some flour, and add a little water if the dough is too dry. Place the ball of dough in a bowl, cover and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
• Making the spiced version? Prepare the spiced oil in the meantime. Toast the sesame seeds and fennel seeds for 4 minutes in a dry frying pan. Leave to cool slightly and grind finely in a mortar. Peel and crush the garlic. Then mix with the olive oil, spice mixture and lemon zest. Season with a little salt.
• Divide the dough into 5 or 6 equal pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough for 1 flatbread to the desired size. Make sure the dough is equally thick everywhere (approximately 1 to 2 mm). Repeat this step for the remaining flatbreads.
• Brush the dough with a thin layer of olive oil.
• Heat a frying pan and cook the flatbread for approximately 3 minutes (optionally with the spiced oil) over medium heat until cooked through and golden brown on both sides.
• Serve the flatbread with some delicious dips (and the remaining spiced oil).

Tip: the flatbreads can also be prepared on the barbecue.

Title: Easy Middle Eastern
Author: Erin Groot
Price: €30
Publisher: Brandt

For this cookbook, her six new neighbors from the Middle East served as her inspiration. People like Ahmad, the baker who makes the most divine baklava, and Yoones, who loves nothing more than his mother’s eggplant stew. Their stories and the fantastic flavors of the Middle East form the basis for the easy-to-make recipes, such as this fantastic flatbread. An extra special detail: the proceeds from the book are donated to Movement on the Ground, an organization committed to supporting refugees.

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• The favorite food addresses at the Beverwijk Bazaar
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