fennel flat bread
i rarely cook bread but one type that i make regularly is flat bread. this was the first recipe i cooked from the original moro cookbook (many years ago!) and it’s something that i try when ever i see a new recipe.
sometimes i make small, soft doughy breads, no larger than my hand but last week, when we had lamb tagine with quince, i decided to make larger thin breads. flavouring from fennel seeds and honey seemed the perfect combination.
some of the breads were cooked so they were slightly crunchy (see picture) and could be used to scoop carrots and other bits out of the broth. others were still soft and uncoloured and perfect for wrapping round pieces of meltingly soft lamb.
fennel flat bread (makes 6)
2t dried yeast
1 tablespoon honey
100 ml tepid water plus extra
750g strong flour
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
place a pizza stone in your oven and preheat it as hot as it will go.
mix the yeast, honey and 100ml water together and leave to stand until the yeast starts to react and there is plenty of foam on top of the liquid. this will take c20 minutes.
sieve the flour into a large bowl and mix in the fennel seeds and salt. make a well in the centre and add the olive oil and yeast mix. using your fingers gently combine the liquid with the flour, adding extra water gradually, until almost all of the flour is mixed in, forming a dry dough.
place the dough on a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth and soft dough (you may need to add small amounts of extra water/flour). this will take c15 minutes. place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes.
take the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly, removing the excess air. split into 6 pieces and roll out each piece so the dough is the same size as your pizza stone. cover with cling film and leave to rise for 20-30 minutes.
when ready to cook, place the dough on your pre-heated pizza stone. cook for 2-3 minutes if you want a soft bread, and 3-4 minutes if you want something more crispy.