INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Jennifer asked in digest no. 212 for a recipe for Afghani or Middle
Eastern flatbread. I haven't tried the following, which comes from an
article in the May/June 1995 "Eating Well" by Jeffery Alford and  Naomi
Dugid about their book "Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker's Atlas"
(William Morrow & Co., 1995).  Dissolve yeast in the water in a large
bowl. In a saucepan or  microwave oven, heat the yogurt until it feels
warm on the inside of  your wrist (about 105 degrees F) and stir it
into the yeast mixture.  Stir in 3 cups of the flour, one cup at a
time. Stir 100 times in the  same direction to properly develop the
gluten. Let stand 10 minutes.  Sprinkle salt over the dough and stir to
mix well. Stir in additional  flour until dough will take no more and
cannot be stirred. Turn out  dough onto a lightly floured work surface
and knead, incorporating  any flour as necessary until smooth and
elastic, about 8 to 10  minutes (it will remain somewhat sticky).
Transfer dough to a large  oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic
wrap and let rest until  doubled in volume (about 1 1/2 hours).  Set an
unglazed baking stone or lightly oiled baking sheet on the  bottom over
rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Gently punch down  the dough
and let rest for another 10 minutes.  On a lightly floured work
surface, divide the dough into 8 equal  pieces. Lightly flour your
palms and flatten each piece; set them  aside, covered with a damp
towel.  Roll out each bread, beginning by spreading 1/2 teaspoon of the
shallots and 1/4 teaspoon of the cumin in a 5-inch circle on the work
surface. Take a piece of dough and set it on top of the shallots and
cumin. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it about 8 inches
in diameter. (If it sticks, lightly flour the surface)  Turn the
rolled-out circle of dough over so the shallots and cumin  are on top.
With a fork, repeatedly prick the center of the circle,  leaving an
untouched rim about 3 inches wide. this allows the bread  to bake with
a slightly higher outside ring, like a pizza crust. Roll  out the
remaining pieces of dough similarly.  Depending on the size of your
baking surface, bake 2 or 3 breads at  one time. Use your hands or a
flour-dusted pizza peel to carefully  transfer the prepared dough to
the heated baking surface. Bake for  only 2 1/2 to 3 minutes -- baked
through but still quite soft. Remove  from the oven and stack
immediately and wrap in a clean towel.  Makes 8 flatbreads, 300
calories per flatbread: 14 g protein, 2 g  fat, 59 g carbohydrate, 844
mg sodium, 4 mg cholesterol. Posted to  Digest eat-lf.v096.n228  Date:
Mon, 25 Nov 1996 08:45:52 -0500  From:
kapitan-white@sugar-land.oilfield.slb.com (Elsa Kapitan-White)

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 2339
Calories From Fat: 67
Total Fat: 8g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 7007.3mg
Potassium: 905.6mg
Carbohydrates: 486g
Fiber: 21g
Sugar: 2.8g
Protein: 70.5g