|
Ingredients
|
Quantity
|
|
Flour
|
3 cups
|
|
Active dry yeast
|
1
|
|
Water
|
1 cup
|
|
Salt
|
¾ tsp
|
|
Oil
|
1 tbsp
|
Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and warm in the oven at
low temperature. Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Add the remaining water
and stir in salt and sugar. Remove about two cups flour from the bowl and set
aside. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the dissolved yeast
mixture into it. Stir in some flour to make a thick liquid. Cover with cloth
and leave in a warm place until frothy. Stir in the remaining flour, adding oil
gradually. Then beat until smooth, either by hand for 10 minutes, or with an
electric dough mixer for five minutes.
Sprinkle a little of the reserved flour onto a board, turn out the
dough and knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour as required, or until the
dough is smooth and satiny with a slightly wrinkled texture. Shape the dough
into a ball.
Oil a bowl and put in the dough, smooth side down. Then turn over,
so that the top is coated with oil. Stretch plastic wrap over the bowl and
leave in a warm place to rise until almost doubled in bulk for about one to
one-and-a-half hours. Preheat the oven to 260o C. Punch down the dough and turn
out onto a lightly floured board. Knead for a minute or so, then divide it into
four portions, rolling each into a ball. Roll each ball into a flat disc, about
25 cm in diameter, and place on a lightly floured cloth. Cover with another
cloth and keep aside for 20 minutes.
Heat a large baking sheet or flat griddle on the lowest shelf in
an electric oven. In a gas oven select the section of the oven with the most
even heat, probably near the top.
Place a round of dough on a lightly floured baking sheet with one
flat edge or on a piece of plywood, spreading it evenly. Shake to ensure that
it will slide off easily. Rub heated baking sheet or griddle with a wad of
paper towel dipped in oil. Then slide the dough onto it. Bake in a hot oven for
about five minutes until it puffs up like a balloon. For a browned top, turn quickly
and leave for a minute. Remove bread and wrap in a cloth to keep it warm and
soft. Similarly bake the remaining loaves.
Alternatively, to bake in an electric fry pan, preheat the fry pan
on highest setting with metal lid on and vent closed. When heated, oil the base
quickly and slide the dough onto the base. Cover and cook for three minutes.
Remove the lid and turn the bread over, re-cover and cook for two more minutes.
