It may be too hot to bake, but it’s not too hot to enjoy sourdough bread. The answer – grilled sourdough flatbread. This recipe is almost too easy. The key is to start with a very active, bubbly sourdough starter. It doesn’t hurt to have someone else do the actual grilling too. My husband is the grilling cook here, and he happily took on this project.
Make Your Own Sourdough Starter
Make your own sourdough starter by using the method I prefer, found on my website Make Your Own Sourdough Starter. Or follow the methods found in earlier Mother Earth News articles, including Creating Homemade Sourdough Bread From a Starter Mix, and a previous blog post, A Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough. It’s hard to completely fail with sourdough, so use the method that appeals most to you.
Prepare The Bread Dough
Ingredients:
• 2 cups sourdough starter
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl or the bowl to a stand mixer.
2. Knead until dough is shiny and satiny – about 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes using a stand mixer.
3. Divide dough into 10 equal balls. Flatten each using a rolling pin, forming circles or ovals about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick.
4. Prick the surface with a fork to prevent breads from forming a pouch when cooked.
5. Place a baking stone on your grill and preheat to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Place breads on the stone and grill until bottoms are lightly browned, 2 – 4 minutes.
7. Flip breads and briefly grill on the top if desired. You may need to slightly reduce the grill temperature for best results. We grilled most of our breads at about 450 degrees for about 5 minutes each.
Serve warm.
The sourdough flatbreads were perfect for dinner on a hot, summer night. We served them with hummus, fresh mozzarella, grilled zucchini and eggplant, and a glass of wine. One thing to keep in mind – the flatbreads did not remain soft. The next day they were more like crackerbread – still delicious and perfect for scooping up hummus – and less like gyro or naan flatbreads. The whole recipe was so easy though, and the flavor was exceptional, so we will be having these again this summer.
Other Grilled Flatbreads
Don’t have a bubbling sourdough starter? Grilled flatbreads can be made using any straight yeast dough. Let the dough rise until doubled, deflate, and then divide into balls.
Renee Pottle is an author, Family and Consumer Scientist, and Master Food Preserver. She writes about canning, baking, and urban homesteading at Seed to Pantry.
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