Flat Breads - A Taste of Ancient Civilizations

Flat breads are one of the oldest known prepared foods. Swiss lakeshore settlements from the Neolithic period have yielded remains of flat breads and traces of the ovens used to bake them. Flatbread was already known in Ancient Egypt and Sumer. In ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), the Sumerians discovered that edible grains could be mashed into a paste and then baked/hardened into a flatbread. For over 6000 years, wherever there has been a plentiful supply of grain, the tradition of making flatbreads has flourished - from the blue-corn tortillas of Mexico to the anise bread of Morocco to the chapattis of India.

Across Asia and Africa the tandoor is the standard baking oven. A hot fire is built in the center of a barrel shaped, clay oven and when the fire has been reduced to hot coals the bread is slapped to the sides.

Paperthin lavash from Armenia is made on a sajj, a large concave iron plate placed over an open fire.

The techniques for making some breads, like Hopi piki and the tools they are cooked on, like the piki stone, are passed down from mother to daughter over many generations. Starting with whole grains, ground to flour and baked over an open fire, these different breads have fed countless generations.

In our modern kitchens we may have to improvise cooking utensils but we can still create fresh baked flat bread. An American improvisation for the sajj is a large wok turned upside down over a gas flame. To replicate a tandoor, you can use unglazed quarry tiles lining the lowest rack of an oven or a baking stone used for pizza. Most breads can also be made using a good cast iron skillet on the stove top. Tip: When making homemade crackers or flatbreads, roll the dough through the roller of a manual pasta machine so it becomes thin and even.

There are more than 60 types of flat bread made worldwide. Typically, they are classified according to whether they are leavened or not and their layering effect — single or double. Double-layered breads, such as pita, baladi and mafrood, are leavened with sourdough or yeast. Single-layered breads sometimes are leavened and include batter types (injera, dosai and crepes) and dough types (naan, focaccia and tanoor). Unleavened varieties include tortillas, matzos and chapattis.

Latin American Flatbreads

Tortillas and arepas are round unleavened bread and are Latin American flatbread favorites. Tortillas are soft, pliable and thin and made from ground corn or masa or wheat flour. Masa is made from corn kernels cooked with unslaked lime and water. They are then shaped and cooked on an ungreased griddle and eaten alone or in recipes such as enchiladas, tacos and other regional dishes. Arepas, made from corn meal, have a crisp exterior and creamy interior and are served plain or with toppings and fillings.

Tortillas: Tortillas made in Central America are generally made with a special type of maize flour that has ben dehulled and treated with an alkaline solution. They are often referred to as "corn tortillas" in the United states and may be cooked on a griddle or fried. Flour tortillas appeared in Central America with the arrival of Spanish explorers and the wheat grain introduced by them. Wheat or "flour tortillas" are more flexible due to the wheat gluten and can be made into larger sizes.

The two types of tortillas, corn tortillas and flour tortillas, have different ingredients and different origins. Corn tortillas originated in Mexico centuries ago while flour tortillas originated in Sonora, a northern Mexican state. It shares a long border with the US where Mexican cooks had access to white flour and incorporated it in a tortilla recipe. There are only two ingredients for corn tortillas: corn flour (masa) and water. For flour tortillas, there are more: all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, vegetable oil and milk. The ingredients are mixed in one bowl and then kneaded. The dough is then returned to the bowl, covered, and rested for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)

Whether corn or flour tortillas, a piece of dough is then rolled into a golf-ball sized ball and then patted out into 6- to 7-inch rounds, between 1/16 to 1/8 thick.  This takes practice and expertise. Some home bakers use a tortilla press for making the thin tortillas. Then, the dough is baked on a hot cast-iron skillet or griddle. Traditionally, tortillas are cooked on a round, dry, earthenware griddle called a comal.

Corn tortillas, like flour tortillas, are best if eaten right after they are made. When baked, hot tortillas can be wrapped in aluminum foil and wrapped in a kitchen towel or napkin to stay hot and tender. Tortillas can be made 2 hours in advance, wrapped and reheated in a 350 degrees F oven for about 12 - 15 minutes. Don't microwave otherwise they toughen. To store, wrap them tightly in plastic, and they will keep, frozen, for several weeks. To serve, let them thaw in their wrappers and come to room temperature.

Arepa:

Native American

Frybread: According to Navajo tradition, frybread was created in 1864 using the flour, sugar, salt and lard that was given to them by the United States government when the Navajo, who were living in Arizona, were forced to make the 300-mile journey known as the "Long Walk" and relocate to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico onto land that could not easily support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans.

For many Native Americans, "frybread links generation with generation and also connects the present to the painful narrative of Native American history." It is often served both at home and at gatherings. Frybread is eaten as a side dish, wrap for tacos, smothered with honey or jam, or topped with beef.

Northern Mediterranean

The northern Mediterranean regions give us crispy and chewy breads such as focaccia and ciabatta as well as piadine and the Sardinian pane carasau. They are all made simply from a ball of dough, and are flavored with sweet or savory flavors, such as oils, olives, cheeses, herbs and vegetables depending on regional variations. Ciabatta, a fermented bread made from flour, water, salt, and sometimes olive oil and milk, has a sour taste and is spongy. Pizza, a garnished Italian flatbread, has actually been around for centuries, but today’s style of pizza can be traced back to the 18th Century Naples. 

Pizza: is the most and best known dish of Italian cuisine. It is a dough, shaped free-form, square or perfectly round, and simply topped with just sauce and mozzarella or with any topping you choose. They are then baked together.

Bruschetta: The bread originated in Abruzzo during olive harvest and later to the rest of Italy. When the oil was pressed, a piece of toasted bread was dipped in it as the vehicle to taste it with. The word bruschetta, meaning "charcoal toasted," is really a Roman slang word, but it has come to be used more often for this type of snack than the more appropriate Tuscan word fettunta, meaning "oiled slice."

Focaccia: (Pronunciation:  foh-KAH-chee-uh). There are all sorts of flatbreads called focaccia, ranging from untopped dense, cakey squares to topped pizza-like squares. It is the name for an Italian flatbread that resembles a pizza crust without the topping and is thought to be the first national dish of Italy. 

Focaccia is a leavened bread that can be flavored with a variety of toppings, like olive oil, herbs, cheese, meat, or even fruit. Focaccia is often cooked on a stone hearth and has characteristic dimples that are made by pressing fingers into the dough before baking. Focaccia can be use to make sandwiches, used to soak up soups and stews, or made into a pizza-like dish with added toppings.

Pane Carasau: is a yeasted bread with a crisp, cracker-like texture. They are rolled very thin, and baked a short period of time. They are brushed with olive oil, and topped with rosemary and salt and baked again. 

Piadine: (Pronunciation: pyah-DEE-nah). This pliable and thin Italian flatbread is usually stuffed with filling, such as meat and cheese, much as tortillas are in Latin America. It is not baked, but rather grilled giving it a different texture and appearance. 

Eastern Europe

Lavash: Lavash are a large unleavened Armenian flat bread that is cooked against the hot walls of a clay oven. These breads are soft and flexible when fresh but dry to a brittle state, at which point they can be stored for many months. Dried Lavash can be softened by sprinkling with water. Like other flat breads, it can be wrapped around meat or other fillings, or used to sop up soups and stews. In the United States lavash are often used to make wrap sandwiches.

Middle East

Flatbreads in the Middle East are eaten with condiments, sauces or lamb. Sometimes the dough is topped with spice mixtures and olive oil, baked and eaten as a snack or appetizer. Pita bread, with its hollow center, makes it ideal for stuffing with salads or meats. Injera, a slightly sour Ethiopian fermented bread, made from teff, corn, barley, wheat, sorghum or a mixture of these, has a spongy texture.

Pita Bread: Pita bread, a form of Arabic flat bread, is one of the oldest recipes known to mankind. There is also baladi from Egypt, bouri from Saudi Arabia and souri from Libya and North Africa. The word, "Pita" has become a generic term for round, flat bread and it originated from the Greek word "Pitta", which means thin, flat layers.

Pita bread recipes differ from region to region but the basic ingredients are flour, water, salt, sugar and yeast or starter. Other ingredients that may be added include butter, shortening, or non-fat dry milk for flavor and texture. Pita bread dough is formed by hand into a round shape. During baking at high temperatures (usually 500 degrees F), it forms a pocket during baking -- the dry exterior skin of the dough sets and carbon dioxide from the yeast and steam from the liquid ingredients expand until the pressure is sufficient to allow separation of the lower and upper layers. The crust then lightly browns.

Matzah: Matzah is an unleavened flat bread eaten by Jews during the Passover holiday when traditional leavened breads are not allowed by Jewish law. Matzah is simply prepared with a flour and water dough, rolled out until thin, and then cooked at a high temperature to create a crisp texture. Matzah can then be eaten as is or crushed into Matzah meal, which can then be added to a variety of recipes.

South Asia

Each region of South Asia has its own specialty and are eaten with meals or as snacks, stuffed with spicy flavorings. In north India, naan, made from wheat flour, sourdough culture and yogurt, is baked in a clay oven and it is a puffy and soft bread. Vegetarians often eat poori, a deep-fried bread made from wheat or lentil flour with ghee and chappatis. In south India, dosa and idli consist of ground rice and urad dal, fermented and grilled or steamed. They are dipped into sauces and chutneys or stuffed with sweet or savory combinations. People in Sri Lanka and south India often breakfast on hopper, or appam, made from leavened rice batter. This bread has a thick, soft, spongy texture in the center and is crisp and lace-like along the edges.

Naan: Naan is a soft, pillowy flatbread native to India and other areas of West and South Asia. Naan is a leavened bread cooked in a special oven called a tandoor. Naan often contains milk or yogurt, which provide a unique flavor and a soft, tender texture. Naan is easily recognizable by its pillowy bubbles that form from contact with the hot oven. This bread is often used to sop up sauces and stews or to wrap around meat and other fillings.

Roti: Roti is another flat bread native to South Asia. It is the traditional flat bread originating from the Indian subcontinent. Unlike naan, roti is not leavened, is made from wholemeal flour, and is traditionally cooked on a flat or concave griddle called a tawa. Items like coconut or green chiles can be added to the roti dough before cooking for added flavor. It is normally eaten with cooked vegetables or curries; it can be called a carrier for curries or cooked vegetables.

The word 'Roti' is used commonly in north, central and east India, whereas 'Chapati' is used more in west (Mumbai), and south India. Only in south India Chapati is fried in a bit of oil! Elsewhere, only a Paratha is fried with oil or ghee.

Chapati: Another name for a Roti. Chapati is a whole wheat flat bread native to South Asia and parts of Africa. Chapati can be used to wrap around meat and vegetables, or used to sop up soups, stews, and curries. Chapati is pretty tasteless unless unaccompanied by something else, like a curry. Chapati is often slathered with ghee after cooking.

Poori (Puri):

Paratha (or Parantha): The Paratha is a layered version of Roti that is layered with Ghee. Paratha (plain, folded or stuffed) is made from an unleavened dough of wholewheat flour. The bread is pan-fried with ghee on the Tawa. Parathas generally stay soft and moist even when cold.