Tomato and Herbes de Provence Flat Bread

You can call this a pizza, but that word has the implications of so much. pizza is fast food, its delivery for lazy or drunken nights, its cheap lunch. its red sauce covered with canned veggies and various spicy or sweet pork products. well. i aint havin it. so this is flat bread because it has no sauce and really is more like a relaxed foccacia. this is another one of my bread inventions, no recipe used. im getting good as long as i keep it simple.

Herbes de Provence is a french herb mix made from the things they would find in the woods. it has things like lavender and rosemary and i have no idea what else but it smells wonderful and tastes as good as it smells. I bought mine in bulk at huckleberries (a natural market here in spokane). if you dont have it, i guess you could use italian seasoning, but its not the same.

this pizza is very dense and toasty. the dough could be used for all kinds of autumn applications, as it seems right for a fall night....

2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal (not polenta)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1 tbsp herbes de provence
3 tbsp butter, cold and sliced thi

sliced tomato, zucchini sliced paper thin, and anchovies (optional) i used both veggies fresh from my garden....yay!

cheese of choice, grated

garlic butter for basting 

mix together yeast and dry ingredients.add butter and mix with your hands until well incorporated. run the tap water until hot, but not too hot to touch (hand hot), sprinkle one cup of the warm water over the flour and mix with your hands. bring dough together. turn out onto the table or a board. bring over another bowl of warm water, knead the dough one or two minutes, wet your hands, knead until no longer sticky, wet your hands, repeat, keep doing this until you have a soft but not sticky dough. flatten into a 3/4 inch thick circle or square and move to a pizza pan or baking sheet. sprinkle a very thin layer of cheese on the dough, add sliced tomatoes and zucchini, well spaced, add just a little more cheese, just for effect.

place on the center rack of a 450 degree oven until golden brown, basting the edges every five minutes or so with butter.

Semolina Flat Bread

These I make by method, rather than recipe. By which I mean I practiced a lot, and now I know generally what to do. They are easy and make less mess than many of the breads I have made recently.

Did i mention that I am working on perfecting my breadmaking skills? this is one of my number one hobbies. Thus all my doughy recipes. Homemade bread is easier to digest due to the kneading process, and when done right taste much better. (except sourdough, i just cant get sourdough as flavorful as the commercial stuff)

There is NOTHING like a warm piece of just out of the oven toasty chewy goodness.

these however are not oven breads. however this dough can be used for dinner rolls or a loaf. its pretty versatile. it also would make a great pizza crust.

ok and also, it really is better if you cook it in a little oil. i tried to keep it light but its just better that way.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup fine semolina
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin (optional or replaceable)
1 tsp sugar
Warm water (almost hot)

mix all the ingredients except water well. make a well in the center. gradually add enough hot water to make the dough come together into a soft ball. add more semolina if its too sticky. knead for about ten minutes or until soft, smooth, and elastic. cover let rise for 30 minutes. punch down.

separate into 2 inch balls. flatten to about 1/2 inch discs. heat a frying pan on med high heat. cook like tortillas, until bubbly and slightly browned on each side. sprinkle salt and a little cumin or chile powder on top. stack them on a plate so they keep each other warm.

Mhadjeb

This Algerian street food (and home food) takes time and effort, but is well worth it. It's reminiscent of a flat, spicy egg roll. It can be made with or without the filling. without the filling it has a different name, and is served with a sprinkling of sugar and coffee or hot milk.

During my time in Algeria I sought out this treat every time I was in the city. It is sold mostly in pizzerias and is often sold out. I remember spending whole days in Oran searching. Luckily, my sister in law discovered my obsession and showed me how to make it. Unfortunately, at the time I had no idea that was what she was showing me, as I dont speak more than 20 words of Arabic, and her only five words of English. Only recently my husband finally revealed that I already knew what I longed to learn. So today I dared to attempt it. and with great results!

So here goes....

Ingredients

for the dough

fine semolina
salt

for the filling

onions
tomatoes
harissa or other chile paste (I used korean, as Sambal Oleck, as Harissa is expensive at my market)
salt

I didnt write quantities because it depends on how much you want to make. each kilo (about 2.2 pounds) of semolina should have about a tsp salt. each onion, one tomato. and the chile paste depends on how spicy you want it. always start with a minimal amount, taste, and add more as needed. once you add too much it is too late.

I make the dough straight on a clean dining table. A bowl just gets in the way. To set up you need a large bowl of water, clean hands, and clean table. pour the semolina in a pile on the table. add salt. mix with your hands. Sprinkle water on the flour, about a handful at a time, raking it in with your hands, until the dough begins to stick together. wet your hands and begin to knead the dough. wet your hands every 30 seconds or so. repeat this for at least a half hour, until dough is smooth, moist, soft and extremely elastic. as shown.

After the dough is ready, roll it into cylindars about 2 inches in diameter. cut into one inch pieces and roll each piece into a
ball. cover with foil.

Prepare the filling. Slice the onions as thin as possible, saute in a little oil until soft. Add tomatoes, chile paste, and salt. Simmer until everything is soft. Set aside.

Prepare your work station. lightly oil a cookie sheet or other large flat surface. heat up a lightly oiled griddle or two skillets.

flatten each ball of dough on the oiled surface, as shown, until paper thin. Dont worry much about holes but try to avoid thick areas. the dough should be as flat as possible. you do this by stretching, not rolling. you will need to keep adding oil to the baking sheet if the dough will not stretch. also, i have discovered that the less oil on the tray, the faster it goes, it should be oily, but not a pool of oil.place a small amount of filling in the center,fold the edges over the top. place on the griddle or pan and brown on each side.

serve warm or cool. I made a HUGE batch because its so messy and time consuming, i dont want to have to do it again for a while... luckily, they freeze well, and we can now enjoy a spicy, chewy, toasty, rich taste of Algeria, any time we want.