Directions: |
Directions:Using weight based Bread Percentages..... (meaning, the percentages you see below, are the weight of each ingredient as a percentage of the total weight of the flour)
Flour (stands as 100% - whatever volume you choose to use - I usually do 1000g batches)
Salt 2% (this means 20g if you have 1000g of flour - for example)
Sugar or Honey 1-4% (Experiment and stay with what you like)
Warm Water 62-63% (approx 100 degrees)
Canola or Olive oil 4% (whichever you prefer)
Active Dry Yeast .5% (1.5% if fresh yeast)
To make the dough.....
mix the flour and salt.
Prepare yeast mixture by adding a couple of teaspoons of either sugar or honey to the warm water along with the yeast.
stir well and let sit for about 5 min. it should start to proof.
Once the yeast has proofed, stir once more to mix it up,
Then, using speed 2 on a mixer with a dough hook, add the water to the flour/salt mixture. let it mix together for a few minutes until its an even consistency.
Now add the oil, and mix again at speed two for another 5-7 minutes. dough should develop a very nice soft consistency.
Put dough in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap for 2 hrs. It should double in size or more. (alternatively, put dough in ziplock bag and refridgerate for up to 48 hours)
Preheat oven to 550 degrees with a stone or metal pizza steel inside. (To get the best results, use the convection setting.)...and yes, we are pre-heating for 45 minutes....
Punch the dough down and break in to softball sized balls, and set on an oiled tray. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for additional 45 minutes to an hour.
Bake The Bread
Take each ball, put a small amount of flour on one side and stretch out like pizza dough until about 1/2 inch thick. DO NOT use a rolling pin. The way I do this, is using two fists in the middle of the doughball keeping it up in the air (not on counter), just pull the dough apart slowly and move it around in circles. You can also grab the edges and let gravity help if needed, but this makes it harder to keep a perfect circle.
Place the dough on the hot stone flour side down using a pizza peel, then using the corner of a spatula, cut about 7-8 holes in the dough about 1/2 inch long. (this keeps the dough from puffing up in the center - and maintains the flatbread style consistency we are going for.
cook for about 5-7 minutes until golden on the top (An ovens convection setting works best for this)
remove from the oven using a spatula and let cool on a rack for about 15 minutes.
Repeat for each loaf, allowing about 5 minutes for the stone and over to get back to a high temp. |
This recipe for Syrian Bread is from