Thursday 3 June 2021

Gluten-Free Pan-fried Flatbread

I just really, really, wanted a pan-fried bread to have when we made lamb kebabs. After several attempts, I discovered this version which hits the spot. It's nice and quick to throw together, and using a wet, flat glass to flatten your bread means there's no rolling needed! It's a fun alternative to naan bread or pita bread or dinner rolls. Enjoy!

Fresh fried flatbread, brushed with butter.

Served with a pumpkin curry (made by my friend Julie) and salad and kebabs (plated by my kids who have a tendency to scatter the plate with the vegetables).

Gluten-Free Pan-fried Flatbread

Makes ~10-12 flat breads

In a mixer combine:

1 1/2 cup brown rice flour

3/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup potato starch

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

2 tsp rapid rise/quick yeast

Add and mix in, beating 3-4 minutes until nice and smooth:

1 cup warm water

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp softened butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat up at medium-high heat a pan like a cast iron or something good for high heat that things don't stick to, ideally. This bread is cooked similarly to how you might cook a tortilla, without any oil or butter on the pan.

In a separate bowl, melt:

2-3 Tbsp butter

The amount of dough you scoop and how large your flat breads depends on your pan size, so you may have to play around a bit the first few flat breads. I like to use a large cookie scoop to scoop dough onto the pan. Use a glass with a flat bottom to dip it in water and quickly flatten your bread. You may have to re-dip the glass 2-3 times until you have your bread flattened.

Flattened several times with the bottom of a wet glass, repeatedly dipped in water. So easy!

Cook 2-3 minutes on the first side, flip, cook another 1-2 minutes and flip another once or twice until the bread is nicely baked through and has the lovely dark pan-fried color on it.

Frying the bread - you want the nice dark spots in this bread. Make sure to flip it a few times so the middle is nice and cooked.

Remove to a wire rack (for a crispier flat bread) or a plate and brush immediately with melted butter. I've put them on a wire rack and on a plate, and we enjoy it both ways.

Fresh from the pan and brushed with melted butter.

Repeat with the dough until you've cooked all your flatbread. You can make your flat breads larger or smaller, depending on your preference. Below, I made them in a smaller size to serve alongside a meal of lamb kebobs, vegetables and salad. This time, I just layered them on a plate and brushed with butter after frying.