Sourdough Flat Bread: The Most Versatile Sourdough Recipe Ever! (2024)

• ▢ 500 g Bread Flour
• ▢ 280 g Water
• ▢ 200 g Sourdough Starter (fed and active)
• ▢ 30 g Olive Oil
• ▢ 15 g Salt

• Measure out all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl. You don't have to pre mix, you can just add them all in on top of one another. This dough is extremely forgiving.

  Gently combine all the ingredients so it forms a shaggy dough. Let the dough sit covered for around 30 minutes.

• Once the dough is hydrated, it's time to knead it. You can do this by hand or you can use a stand mixer, it's completely up to you.

  You'll need to knead the dough by hand until the texture of the dough is smooth and silky. This usually takes around 10 minutes, depending on how hard you knead it.

  If you are going to use a stand mixer you can find some tips on this in the recipe notes below.

• Once the sourdough flat bread dough is sufficiently kneaded, cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until it has doubled.

  This may take several hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Watch the dough and it will show you when it's ready, rather than going by a set amount of time.

  Using 200g of sourdough starter means the process will happen faster than if you used less (see recipe notes)

• Once the dough has doubled, separate the dough into smaller balls so they are ready to be rolled out. I find around 50g to be the perfect size.

  The easiest way to do this is to flip the dough onto your counter, making sure the sticky side is facing up. Use a metal dough scraper to gently cut chunks of the dough away. Gently form into a loose ball.

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  Leave the balls on your counter top, covered with a tea towel, for around 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax (see notes for more info).

• Once the dough has relaxed you can easily roll them out into rounds using a rolling pin.

  Have some semolina or cornmeal handy to use if you're using a rolling pin so the dough doesn't become sticky. The olive oil in the dough will make it quite elastic though.

• When you're ready to cook, heat a frying pan, skillet or bbq plate until it's HOT! These flat breads need a hot, fast cook.

  Add a few drops of olive oil to your cooking surface and carefully drop the flat bread onto it (if you find the dough has "shrunk" a little from when you shaped it, just gently use your hands to stretch it a little before you drop it in the pan).

  They will only need around 1 minute each side. They will bubble up and brown very quickly. Once it bubbles, flip to the other side to brown and then remove.

• If you aren't eating them straight away, keep the flatbreads stacked and wrapped in a tea towel to ensure they stay nice and soft and pliable.

Using a Stand Mixer or Thermomix to Knead the Dough

The easiest way to make this dough is in a food processor, stand mixer or Thermomix. This recipe requires kneading so I find it easiest to use a machine (mainly because I'm time poor). I make this dough in my Thermomix - but any type of stand mixer (ie Kitchen Aid) would work. If you're using a stand mixer, I'd combine all the ingredients first and then swap to the dough hook once the dough has come together.

Knowing When the Dough Is Kneaded

If your dough is still sticky, sprinkle a little extra flour and knead for a further minute or two until it becomes silky smooth. You'll know it's ready when you can hear it slapping the sides of the bowl. Generally it takes 4-6 minutes of kneading but the time will depend on your dough as well as the strength of your machine.

Notes on Bulk Fermentation

This recipe uses 200g of sourdough starter, which means that your dough will ferment fairly quickly. For more information on how the amount of starter affects fermentation time, go here.

Notes on Size of Dough Balls

Just a note here regarding the size of each flatbread - what you want to use them for will depend on the size you make them. 50g is perfect for a round flatbread. 100g would be better if you want a naan or souvlaki wrap.