Bidda (Thin Flatbreads)

RECIPE 

200ml lukewarm water 

125ml lukewarm milk

1 tsp caster sugar 

1 sachet instant dry yeast (7g)

500g strong white bread flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

Put the water and milk in a jug, stir in sugar to dissolve, then add yeast. Leave for 5-10 mins until it activates and bubbles. *Even though it’s instant dry yeast, bread making always works so much better for me when I use dry active yeast this way. 

Sift the flour into a large bowl, stir in the salt, then gently pour in the activated liquid/yeast mixture and, if kneading by hand, bring everything together with your hands and place on a surface (add a little extra flour for dusting if necessary). Knead for an around 10 mins until smooth (or in a stand mixer / a hand mixer with dough hooks for 8-10 mins). Once smooth, tuck the dough under to form a ball, smooth over with a tiny bit of olive oil then place in a large bowl (greased with olive oil), cover the bowl with cling film and a tea towel and leave somewhere warm and cosy to prove for 1hr to 1 1/2 hrs until doubled in size.

Once the dough has substantially risen, take it out of the bowl and gently punch it down slightly (this is called knocking back - taking out air bubbles which will again form after shorter second proof) and divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, roughly 50g each in weight. On a clean work surface and using the palm of your hand, roll each piece into a smooth ball. Leave all of the dough balls on the work surface, cover with cling film and a clean tea towel and leave to prove for another 20-30 mins or so until they have almost doubled in size again. *if your surface is cold, place each ball on a large lightly floured tray, cover with clingfilm and a tea towel and take them somewhere warm and cosy to proof again.

Place a medium sized non-stick frying pan to heat up on a medium heat and start to roll out the bidda. Flour the surface and your rolling pin and roll out each of the balls into a circular disk, roughly 22cm in diameter (I roll one and while it’s cooking, I roll out another, but if you have the space, feel free to roll them all out before cooking but you’ll need to work quickly so that they don’t dry out too much). To get them circular and uniform in shape, turn the dough at a 45 degree angle each time you roll.

Once the pan is hot, place the rolled dough in the pan and cook for around a minute or so until bubbles form on the top then flip over and cook the other side for another 30-60 seconds as it puffs up. Keep the cooked bidda covered under tea towels to ensure they remain soft and warm and while you cook up the remaining bidda.

*I wrap them up tightly in foil and reheat in a preheated oven, 150c fan for around 5-10 mins until warmed through. They can also be frozen and reheated in the oven in the same way.