Mashed and Grated Flat Bread with Truffle
Concept
The idea is to create a versatile flatbread incorporating potato and truffles. The idea is to make a flaky layered flat bread following a paratha technique of rolling the dough out thinly, spreading it with truffle butter, rolling it into a log, curling each end back in opposite directions and flattening it together. This dough ball is then rolled out flat and dry-fired.
There are many options for the dough recipe, and they will differ depending on whether I use mashed or grated potato.
I did the first run with mashed potato using a basic Farls recipe but omitted the grated potato, decreased the mashed potato and increased the plain flour. I also added cumin seeds as I love them and thought they would work well with the potato and truffle. While this made a lovely flatbread, the dough was too soft to hold the layers.
The second run was done with just grated potato and using boiling water to extract the starch from the grated potato and inhibit the oxidisation process. I also changed the dough to a rub-in method.
Concept Details
For this version, I want to combine the best of both worlds and have the softness created by the mashed potato with the crispness of the grated potato.
One of my main concerns was that the potato would quickly oxidise once grated and create grey specks in the finished bread. I also wanted to keep any starch to help crisp the bread. To this end I used the boiling water method tried in the grated potato flat bread but also added the fat component (butter) to this water, as I did not think the mashed potato would combine well when using the rub-in method. This was basically a wet and dry proces, but I combined the wet ingredients first and then added the dry, to create the dough.
Recipe
Ingredients
400 grams mashed potato
400 grams of potato to be grated just before use
½ tsp baking powder
15 g melted butter
80 ml water
2 cup plain flour
1 tbsp cumin seeds
Additional 50g softened butter or ghee and mixed with 25g truffle butter
Method
Place the mashed potato in a large bowl. Add cumin seeds to a pan and place that on the stove on a gentle heat until you can smell the cumin—usually 1 to 2 minutes. Add to the bowl with the potato.
Melt butter with water (on the stove or in the microwave). Grate the potato and add it straight to hot water and a butter mix. Stir, then pour into the mashed potato. Mix until well combined. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix with a knife or spoon. Continue mixing with your hands to bring it into a dough. If it is too sticky to handle, add a little bit more flour. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. You want to activate the gluten in the flour.
Divide into six equal portions and rest for half an hour. Place one portion on the work surface and keep the remaining covered. Roll the dough out to a large square shape and roll as thin as possible. Spread lightly with the softened butter mixed with truffle butter and roll up like a snake as tightly as possible. Once rolled into a snake, start curling the right end with your right hand down to form a circle. Turn the left end up with your left hand to form a circle. Keep rolling until they meet in the middle. Place one circle on top of the other and press down. Repeat with remaining dough, then rest for half an hour before the final roll and cook.
Roll each ball of dough out to about dinner plate size. Heat a non-stick frypan with no oil and add the bread. Dry fry on both sides until crispy and slightly browned. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Once cool, you can freeze or refrigerate for cooking later or do the second cook now.
Second Cook
Heat a non-stick fry pan and add a little bit of oil. Place the bread in the pan and cook until heated through, crisp and browned. If the bread is frozen, it is unnecessary to defrost it first.
Video
Conclusion
The resulting flatbread was what I was after. This bread had the softness of the bread made with mashed potato but also the layers and flakiness of the bread made with just grated potato. The cumin paired well with the truffle and made for tasty eating. I also found the dough in this method easier to work with and did not require as much additional flour.
Future Development
I am happy with this recipe as is. I will however try it with different potato varieties and see what these bring to the recipe.