Wholemeal Flatbreads

[GeoffF100]

The price of wholemeal pasta is going through the roof. £0.75 for 500g at Aldi and Lidl. £0.95 at Asda. The brown basmati rice that I had been using is now £2.20 for 1 Kg at Asda. I am trying the brown long grain rice from Lidl at £1.10 for 1 Kg. I get lots of blackened grains when I soak it (as part of the process for removing a r s e n i c). I can pick those out but it takes time. Chapati flour used to be cheap, but is getting more expensive.

Wholemeal bread making flour is relatively cheap at £0.80 for a Kg at Lidl IIRC. I wondered about using that to make flatbread. This recipe looks easy:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/who ... flatbreads

Rapeseed oil is not stable when you heat it, which can lead to the production of trans fats, which are seriously bad for you. You can substitute olive oil which is much more stable. I read some stuff about bannocks. (The rude word filter did not have any trouble with that one.) Traditionally they were flat breads made from barley flour and oatmeal. They sometimes added peasemeal.

[GeoffF100]

A comment to the recipe says that you need self raising flour, so perhaps it is necessary to add baking powder:

https://www.deliaonline.com/ask-lindsey ... meal-flour

That would not push up the cost much, but bubbles would increase the glycemic index.

[GeoffF100]

A comment to the recipe says that you need self raising flour, so perhaps it is necessary to add baking powder:

https://www.deliaonline.com/ask-lindsey ... meal-flour

That would not push up the cost much, but bubbles would increase the glycemic index.

On second thoughts, I think there is a typo in that comment ("it" instead of "if"). I do not think you need self raising flour. The flat breads definitely look flat in the picture.

[James]

Rapeseed oil is not stable when you heat it, which can lead to the production of trans fats, which are seriously bad for you. You can substitute olive oil which is much more stable.

I always thought olive oil was one of the ones not to use at high temps and that canola/sunflower were better.

[GeoffF100]

Rapeseed oil is not stable when you heat it, which can lead to the production of trans fats, which are seriously bad for you. You can substitute olive oil which is much more stable.

I always thought olive oil was one of the ones not to use at high temps and that canola/sunflower were better.

It is hard to find a definitive source here, but here is one article:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/he ... eep-frying

Olive oil is consistently considered to be a safe choice. Nonetheless, it will be even safer if it is not heated to high temperatures.

[GeoffF100]

This flour should do the job, and it will not break the bank;

https://groceries.asda.com/product/flou ... 0002619602

[GeoffF100]

I made a flatbread following the BBC recipe with quarter quantities. I used the Allinson wholemeal plain flour and olive oil. The result was very good. The tiny amount of olive oil was not easy to mix in, and did not seem to do any good. I omitted it the next time. To increase the nutritional value, I substituted 20% gram flour:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /302275241

The result tasted even better if anything. This Asda wholemeal bread flour has a lower unit cost than the Allinson flour:

https://groceries.asda.com/product/flou ... r/80190764

I expect that it will do the job too.

[GeoffF100]

The Asda wholemeal bread making flour worked well. I saw an even cheaper version in Aldi, but it is not listed on their website. I improved the nutritional value by adding 25% gram flour (chickpea + yellow pea):

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /302275241

Also good. I then improved the nutritional value even further by adding spinach. Also good. Frozen spinach is cheaper and worked too. To make two giant flat breads (feeds two):

150g wholemeal bread making flour.
50g gram flour.
80g frozen spinach.
80g water.

1. Let the spinach defrost.
2. Chop it up along with the water in a mini-chopper.
3. Add to the other ingredients, and make a dough in a food processor.
4. Roll into two giant flat breads.
5. Cook for about 30 seconds each side on a heated chapati pan.

The finished flat breads should be bubbled with a few brown spots. Eat them while they are hot. There are plenty of additional ingredients that you can add, but the basic version is very good, incredibly cheap and very nutritious.

[UncleEbenezer]

The finished flat breads should be bubbled with a few brown spots. Eat them while they are hot. There are plenty of additional ingredients that you can add, but the basic version is very good, incredibly cheap and very nutritious.

That's beginning to sound tempting!

So what do you eat it with? Cheese? Hummus? Green salad? Olives? Refried beans and guacamole? All of the above?

[GeoffF100]

The finished flat breads should be bubbled with a few brown spots. Eat them while they are hot. There are plenty of additional ingredients that you can add, but the basic version is very good, incredibly cheap and very nutritious.

That's beginning to sound tempting!

So what do you eat it with? Cheese? Hummus? Green salad? Olives? Refried beans and guacamole? All of the above?

In the interest of speed and energy efficiency, I make one huge flat bread rather than two sensibly sized ones. You would need a huge amount of topping for that, and a wrap would be like a yard stick. It is on the dry side (without any oil), so soup is a good accompaniment. There are lots of suggestions on the web for added ingredients: carrom (ajwain) seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, rosemary and garlic... The Indian version does not have the gram flour, but has enormous amounts of spinach. It is bright green whereas my version is lightly mottled.

[GeoffF100]

You need to roll the flat breads as thin as you can, consistent with them having sufficient strength to be moved. They should still fit onto one of these:

https://direct.asda.com/george/home/pot ... lt,pd.html

[redsturgeon]

You need to roll the flat breads as thin as you can, consistent with them having sufficient strength to be moved. They should still fit onto one of these:

https://direct.asda.com/george/home/pot ... lt,pd.html

They sound good.

You must have a giant chapati pan though!

John

[GeoffF100]

You need to roll the flat breads as thin as you can, consistent with them having sufficient strength to be moved. They should still fit onto one of these:

https://direct.asda.com/george/home/pot ... lt,pd.html

They sound good.

You must have a giant chapati pan though!

I have got one of the 30 cm Scoville pans, as in the link. It always looks as though the flat bread will not fit onto the pan, but so far it has. I have just had a time consuming accident. I forgot to defrost the spinach and defrosted it in a saucepan. I ended up with too much water in the food processor and created mess. I recovered the situation by adding more flour. Every nook and cranny of the food processor became gummed up with sticky dough and I had to complete the process by hand. Next time, I will weight the spinach and allow for any extra water retention. The resulting flat bread was excellent though, and I now have two rather than one dough ball waiting in the fridge.

[GeoffF100]

I blanched the spinach again this time, and squeezed out the water. Adding 60g of water produced a perfect dough, with the other weights as above. I did not need to chop the spinach beforehand. The food processor did a good job by itself.

I made a topping from olive oil, garlic, onion, mushrooms, tinned chopped tomatoes and dried basil. Very nice. Much like a pizza, but healthier. I ate it in a most uncivilised way.

[Dod101]

The Asda wholemeal bread making flour worked well. I saw an even cheaper version in Aldi, but it is not listed on their website. I improved the nutritional value by adding 25% gram flour (chickpea + yellow pea):

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /302275241

Also good. I then improved the nutritional value even further by adding spinach. Also good. Frozen spinach is cheaper and worked too. To make two giant flat breads (feeds two):

150g wholemeal bread making flour.
50g gram flour.
80g frozen spinach.
80g water.

1. Let the spinach defrost.
2. Chop it up along with the water in a mini-chopper.
3. Add to the other ingredients, and make a dough in a food processor.
4. Roll into two giant flat breads.
5. Cook for about 30 seconds each side on a heated chapati pan.

The finished flat breads should be bubbled with a few brown spots. Eat them while they are hot. There are plenty of additional ingredients that you can add, but the basic version is very good, incredibly cheap and very nutritious.

I could not imagine frozen spinach. Presumably it freezes OK but I can only imagine it as a mushy unappetising mess.

Dod

[servodude]

The Asda wholemeal bread making flour worked well. I saw an even cheaper version in Aldi, but it is not listed on their website. I improved the nutritional value by adding 25% gram flour (chickpea + yellow pea):

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /302275241

Also good. I then improved the nutritional value even further by adding spinach. Also good. Frozen spinach is cheaper and worked too. To make two giant flat breads (feeds two):

150g wholemeal bread making flour.
50g gram flour.
80g frozen spinach.
80g water.

1. Let the spinach defrost.
2. Chop it up along with the water in a mini-chopper.
3. Add to the other ingredients, and make a dough in a food processor.
4. Roll into two giant flat breads.
5. Cook for about 30 seconds each side on a heated chapati pan.

The finished flat breads should be bubbled with a few brown spots. Eat them while they are hot. There are plenty of additional ingredients that you can add, but the basic version is very good, incredibly cheap and very nutritious.

I could not imagine frozen spinach. Presumably it freezes OK but I can only imagine it as a mushy unappetising mess.

Dod

It is fine for cooking with (especially if you need a decent volume of spinach)
I was originally sceptical of the stuff given how it looks - but after some coercion to try it I now save the fresh stuff mostly for salads (and cook any left over when it starts to go a bit limp)

[Dod101]

The Asda wholemeal bread making flour worked well. I saw an even cheaper version in Aldi, but it is not listed on their website. I improved the nutritional value by adding 25% gram flour (chickpea + yellow pea):

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /302275241

Also good. I then improved the nutritional value even further by adding spinach. Also good. Frozen spinach is cheaper and worked too. To make two giant flat breads (feeds two):

150g wholemeal bread making flour.
50g gram flour.
80g frozen spinach.
80g water.

1. Let the spinach defrost.
2. Chop it up along with the water in a mini-chopper.
3. Add to the other ingredients, and make a dough in a food processor.
4. Roll into two giant flat breads.
5. Cook for about 30 seconds each side on a heated chapati pan.

The finished flat breads should be bubbled with a few brown spots. Eat them while they are hot. There are plenty of additional ingredients that you can add, but the basic version is very good, incredibly cheap and very nutritious.

I could not imagine frozen spinach. Presumably it freezes OK but I can only imagine it as a mushy unappetising mess.

Dod

It is fine for cooking with (especially if you need a decent volume of spinach)
I was originally sceptical of the stuff given how it looks - but after some coercion to try it I now save the fresh stuff mostly for salads (and cook any left over when it starts to go a bit limp)

Thanks. I quite like spinach and it is full of good stuff but it never occurred to me that I could freeze it. Will try that.

Dod

[GeoffF100]

Thanks. I quite like spinach and it is full of good stuff but it never occurred to me that I could freeze it. Will try that.

You have to blanch it first:

https://www.freezeit.co.uk/can-you-freeze-spinach/

It would make sense if you have grown more than you can eat. I am using it in my flat bread because it is much cheaper than buying fresh. £1.10 per Kg at Aldi.

[Dod101]

Thanks. I quite like spinach and it is full of good stuff but it never occurred to me that I could freeze it. Will try that.

You have to blanch it first:

https://www.freezeit.co.uk/can-you-freeze-spinach/

It would make sense if you have grown more than you can eat. I am using it in my flat bread because it is much cheaper than buying fresh. £1.10 per Kg at Aldi.

Many thanks. I have never heard of that but it makes sense.

Dod

[servodude]

Thanks. I quite like spinach and it is full of good stuff but it never occurred to me that I could freeze it. Will try that.

You have to blanch it first:

https://www.freezeit.co.uk/can-you-freeze-spinach/

It would make sense if you have grown more than you can eat. I am using it in my flat bread because it is much cheaper than buying fresh. £1.10 per Kg at Aldi.

Many thanks. I have never heard of that but it makes sense.

Dod

Indeed. It's the buying it frozen that makes the difference for things like curry or spanakopita