Flat, I’m flat, I’m flat as a pancake.  Flat as a pancake, busy as a bee and happy as can be with Nan E Barbari!

Since I am so very late posting this month because the universe has chosen to bless me with a hail storm of crisis events – always loved that Morton salt girl with the huge umbrella in the downpour – when it rains it pours.  I will do this very short with just a few notes of mine.

Notes:  You really want to bake this: It’s drop dead easy and fast for yeasties.

My original goal was to have a lovely Persian dinner with this like lamb meatballs … but I never got that past the idea stage and instead we used half of a loaf for toast and the rest for glorious sandwiches!  When we get to Michigan, this is going to be high on my list for a BBQ nite.

Recipe from our Kitchen of the Month Elizabeth

and

based on Lida’s recipe for Barbari Bread at 1001recipe.com

Nan e Barbari (Persian flatbread)

dough
5 gm (~1.5 tsp) active dry yeast
360 gm (1.5 c) water, at 90F (32C) ¹
60 gm (~0.5 c) 100% whole wheat flour
360 gm (~2.75 c) unbleached all purpose flour (100 grams of this was spelt)
2 gm (~0.5 tsp) baking powder
6 gm (1 tsp) salt

30 gm ground flax seed
nigella seeds (or black sesame, poppy, sesame seeds)
sauce
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
160 gm (2/3 c) water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, yeast and salt and whisk together. with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  (Doesn’t that give you pause … baking powder, yeast.  Well, it did me but I blindly followed along.)   Add water and mix with wooden spoon or your hands until it clears the sides of the bowl.

2.  Kneading: Turn the dough out onto an UNfloured board. Now Elizabeth has a fetish about washing and drying her bowl … I don’t.  Please do not be tempted to skip this step. I did … ship it.  Using both hands on either side of the dough and thumbs resting on the top in the center, lift it up and flip it over in the air before plopping it back down on the board.  Considering all that hail storm, my plopping was more like whack and bam but boy that was just terrific.   Fold the dough in half away from you as you plop the dough down. Keep repeating until the dough is smooth. Every so often, use the dough scraper to clean the board. Stretching the dough is desired on the turns. But this won’t start happening right away.  When the dough is smooth, place it in the clean mixing bowl (there is no need to oil the bowl).

3. I placed the dough ball in my rising bucket and put the lid on.  Allowed to double.

4. Prepare the sauce: Whisk flour, baking soda and water in a small pot. Bring it to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

5. Pre-shaping: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scatter a light dusting of flour on the board and gently remove the risen dough onto it. Don’t worry that the dough is quite slack. Cut the dough in half. Form each piece into a ball and place well apart on the cookie sheet.

6. I covered this with a large plastic box and allow to rise to double in a draft-free area. (about an hour)

7. Final Shaping: Brush each round with the sauce. Dip your fingers in the sauce and dimple the rounds down to form two ovals with lengthwise furrows.  Brush ovals with the sauce once more and sprinkle with nigella seeds. Allow the ovals to stand for about 30 min.  Elizabeth has terrific links for videos, very worth while, I just don’t have time to include today.

8. Baking:  Baking: If you do not have a barbecue, this bread can be baked in a conventional oven. Lida suggests baking it in a preheated 375F (190C) oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Serve the bread warm.  And if cools completely all is not lost because …

You can still have glory!

Thank You Elizabeth for a great bread, please for give the speed post.  Some times life just throws such incredible curves.

See our  Kitchen of the Month Elizabeth blog to be a Bread Baking Buddy!