Mediterranean Flat Bread

Is that cool or what!

 Ever since I first made pizza, I have loved making bread. It took a while to perfect my own recipe but we got there in the end and now I can pretty much do it blindfolded. The chap I worked for at the BCDO (Big Church Day Out) once showed me how to make foccaccia bread which was so inspiring, I loved how everything worked together in the whole process. From then on I started being braver with different ingredients and methods, for instance, one day we visited an old water mill where I bought some spelt flour, or, hulled/dinkel wheat. I used one part spelt to two parts regular bread flour and it had this great flavour and texture that I still love today so if you plan on trying bread sometime then I highly recommend trying spelt sometime.

 In that video of Jamie live in Hammersmith, he did these super cool things he calls Gerrano breads. These brilliant little breads were made with left-over... Hold on, how about I do separate post just for them as part of the Leftovers Series sometime?

 Time: 2 3/4 hrs

 Serves: Yields a 16"x14" flat bread

 RECIPE:

 1) Take a large mixing bowl, two sachets of dried yeast, a handful of sugar and salt, 800g of flours (decide on your own ratios) and a jug of roughly 500ml warm water. Pour in the yeasts salt, sugar and a splash of the water and give it a little stir. This just wakes the yeast up a little. Pour in about 750g of your flour, a good handful of parmesan, a teaspoon each of basil and thyme, one finely diced red onion and then make a well in the centre of the ingredients with your hand.

Slowly bring everything together

Nearly ready to knead

 2) Steadily pour in your water and, using a fork, stir the mixture in the well slowly and then gradually make your circumfrence bigger, bring in more of the sides. (The trick with good bread is to make it ever so slightly more wet than you need and then add flour after everything is together as this keeps it soft and easy to work with but also springy when cooked.) Once everything has combined in the bowl to become a stodgy dough it is ready to knead. 
 3) Flour your hands and a large, clean surface before dumping out your dough. (Kneading takes practice so don't worry about technique as such. The more you make bread the more natural it will become.) Knead the dough, dusting with flour as you go, for about five minutes until it becomes silky and elastic. Flour the bowl and then return the dough to it. Place a damp teatowel over the bowl and let it prove* until doubled in size. During this time, dice another red onion and half some cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves and olives.

I love the feeling of
flour on my hands

Smooth to the touch

 4) Preheat your oven to 180/200 degrees celsius. When the dough has risen/proved, flour your surface, knead it again and form it into a large ball. Take a large roasting tray and generously glug some olive oil in there. Place the dough in the tray, flip it over and squidge it flat with your fingers before placing it in the oven. Let the bread cook for twenty to thirty minutes and then quickly scatter over bits and pieces you prepped earlier, drizzle with more olive oil and return the oven for another fifteen or so minutes by which time the bread should be looking deliciously golden. Remove from the oven, grate over some parmesan and place the tray on a rack until cool enough to remove the bread. Leave until well cooled and serve in squares cut down the middle ready to be filled!

Jamie's three-flavour focaccia

 *Proving is the process in which the bread swells due to the fermentation taking place within the dough. If the dough springs back when prodded it is under proved however, if bread over proves then the bubbles forming inside will either grow to large and burst or connect creating a large bubble in the dough.

 Bread is one of those things that you could explore forever and still learn something new. You just have to get out there and have a bash yourself at making and eating different breads. It really doesn't take much to get some ingredients together and make a few rolls. Making bread is such a simple science and, once cracked, will leave you with a sense of great satisfaction and will make you look like a complete genius.
 Don't hesitate to contact me and be sure to have a look at Your Blog! by clicking here.

Don't actually attempt this,,,

Seasoned with Inventiveness,

Jacob

 An interesting fact - Not everyone owns a small restaurant in Greece but if you do then you will know that breads, though not worth much, can make you a good deal of money through other means. Apparently, in most eastern European restaurants they have baskets of free bread on the tables so while people are waiting for their meals, they will snack on the soft, salty bread. The salt makes them thirsty so they order more drinks which is where any restaurant  cafe, bistro, etc, will make money. Genius, huh?

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