Recipe: Easy Barbecue Flatbreads

From Helen Graves' 'Live Fire'

These flatbreads took on a life of their own on the internet. People started referring to me on Instagram as ‘the flatbread lady’. There’s nothing groundbreaking about my flatbread recipe but I think it appeals to people because it’s really easy and works every time. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as puffy, steaming bread hot off the grill. Use them to wrap the various kebabs in this book like the Adana Kebabs on page 203 [of the book]; swipe them through dips like those on the smoky aubergine (eggplant) spectrum on pages 113–115 [of the book]; and top them with pretty much anything you fancy, like a sort-of pizza. It is possible to make pizzas on the barbecue but you really need a pizza stone or, ideally, a pizza oven – this is a simple idea that works when you don’t have either.

—Helen Graves

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Easy Barbecue Flatbreads

Makes: 4 large or 8 small flatbreads

Setup: Direct cooking

Equipment: Tongs

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 30 minutes–1 hour rising time

Cook time: 5 minutes

Dough

500 g (1 lb 2 oz/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) ‘00’ flour

¹

, plus extra for dusting

2 teaspoons (8g) instant yeast

300 ml (10 fl oz/1 ¼ cups) hand-hot water

2 tablespoons olive oil

10g (2 teaspoons fine) salt

— Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic (you can do this either by hand or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment).

— Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled in size – this will take anything from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

— Just before you roll out the dough, prepare a barbecue for direct cooking over medium heat.

— Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (or 8 smaller pieces) and roll them out on a lightly floured surface to roughly 23 cm/9 in (or 15 cm/6 in) in diameter.

— Cook the flatbreads on a hot barbecue over direct heat for a minute or so, turning once, until puffy and charred in places.

— Repeat with the remaining flatbreads, although keep the raw dough well away from the barbecue, where it will melt!

To Cook Indoors: Preheat a cast-iron griddle pan over a high heat for at least 5 minutes. Cook the flatbreads one by one in the dry pan for a minute or so on each side, or until puffed and slightly charred.


Excerpted with permission from Live Fire by Helen Graves, published by Hardie Grant, May 2022, RRP $40.00 Hardcover.

1. Or a high-protein all-purpose flour like King Arthur.