Since H is not a fan of rice, nor a huge fan of pasta, there isn’t many options left for carbohydrates. Its great that there’s such a great and wide range of breads available to buy and make. There are flat breads, yeasted like naan or soft wraps and there are unleavened flatbreads like wraps, roti and tortillas. We buy our fair share of commercial breads, eventhough I don’t really like it as sometimes I think storebought bread tastes like plastic. Try buying a packet of wraps from the supermarket, take a whiff and you’ll know what I mean. It smells like the plastic it came in! Flatbreads are great when you’re short of time as a lot of times they do not need long resting or rising (if they are yeast based) times.
These were filled with sliced pan griddled chicken breasts, diced tomato, capsicum, shredded cheddar, lettuce and a homemade tahini yogurt sauce. Just mix 1 part tahini to 5 parts yogurt, season well with salt and pepper and stir till smooth.
Picnic wraps
Makes 8
Recipe adapted from King Arthur’s Flour Baker’s Companion
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, knead together all ingredients till smooth. I used my Kitchen Aid with a dough hook and kneaded at speed #3 for ten mins. The dough should be smooth and satiny. Divide into 8 small equal pieces and roll into balls. Leave to rest at least 30 mins. This period of rest makes the dough easier to roll out. Preheat a flat ungreased frying pan at low heat. Working with one piece at a time, dust work surface generously with flour and roll each piece thinly to a 6-7 inch circle. Fry for about 45 secs on one side and flip over. Small brown spots should appear on the cooked side. Place in a bowl and cover with a towel, this creates steam and softens the wrap. Repeat for remaining pieces.
Here are some tips to make soft wraps:
-knead them really well, at least 10-15 mins by hand or let the machine run
-roll them as thin as you possibly can. If they’re springing back a lot and refusing to be rolled thin, it needs to be rested a while, try again after the rest
-rolling them one at a time while there’s on the pan decreased the risk of them drying out while waiting to be put on the pan
-try to adjust the temperature of the pan such that nice light brown spots appear on the cooked side and bubbles appear on the uncooked side. If the bread puffs up, its even better as this creates 2 soft layers in your bread
-cover in a towel as soon as they’re off the pan, this steam really helps to soften them
There’s just no comparison between commercial and homemade wraps, and those prove my point. They look absolutely delicious, and I know they’ll taste even better.
Thanks Marysol! I still haven’t figured out how to make them last more than a day though, they tend to be best fresh then harden up as days pass.. Any ideas?
I read your post yesterday and have been waiting anxiously for this one. Like you, I can’t bring myself to purchase store-bought naan, pita, etc unless it’s absolutely necessary. Tortillas are usually the only thing I’ll buy pre-made; however I just bought a bag of masa flour to try my hand. I figure since I moved to Texas, only 100 miles from the Mexico border, I should be able to make my own tortillas! This post is inspiration – thanks!
Cheers,
*Heather*
Hi Heather, thanks for the comment! Sometimes it does seem necessary to keep a frozen stash of bread in the freezer especially with work and all in the way. But since I’m officially a housewife while waiting for my baby to arrive, i’ve been pottering about the kitchen making all sorts of bread.. Can’t wait to see your tortillas. And I love mexican food!
I have been waiting for this since our Arabian night! And thanks for the bonus tip on the yoghurt sauce.. I’ve always wondered how to make it. We love our wraps too, for packed lunches especially. Will definitely give this a try!
Hey dear, the pita breads from arabian nite were made with a different recipe! Its in the recipe index, I could pass u a simpler one too.
These look incredible! I would pick a wrap/sandwich over rice any given day.
How on earth do you get them all such a perfect round? My pita bread was all shades of funky when I made them
I tried to roll them into really round balls before rolling them out, then tried to roll them out evenly by rotating them on the rolling board. Even then I don’t think they were that even, i think its a camera trick that makes them all look perfect!