Mark Bittman's Easy Whole Grain Flatbread

I did finally buy one of Mark Bittman's cookbooks (Food Matters), but truth be told, my favorite recipe resource is still his inimitable video series, The Minimalist at the NY Times site.  He has such a cute sense of humor, which comes across better on camera.  Just my opinion.  Also, I'm cheap and have too many cookbooks already. (Is such a thing possible?) So, this contribution is from his show, a recipe for the easiest flatbread you will EVER bake.  No lie, I am here to tell you, after years of baking bread.  He gives two versions of the recipe, one plain with only four ingredients: flour, water, salt and olive oil.  The other has coconut milk replacing the water and incorporates curried cauliflower.  That I want to try next.

Unfortunately, the bread is not all that photogenic.  It's flatbread.  What can I say.  But the taste was lovely, crunchy on the sides from the olive oil, softer inside, the flavor of toasty grains overall.  I added in some teff flour, as this bread reminded me a bit of  Injera,  an Ethiopian flatbread I'd made last year sometime, which is also made from teff.  Besides that little variation, how could a chance to use sourdough starter be passed up?  So, sue me, I can't seem to follow a recipe as given.  He mentions using corn meal for part of the flour, so teff is just another grain away.

Easy Flatbread

By Mark Bittman from The Minimalist
If you do have sourdough starter, go ahead and use that, as it gives a nice bit of tang to the bread.  If not, just follow directions as given:

Ingredients
1 cup whole grain flour (can be part cornmeal, teff flour or other) or 1 cup starter and 1/4 cup teff flour
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
about 1 cup water plus extra if needed for correct consistency (I used way less - only 1/4 cup as the sourdough starter has water in it.)

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.  Heat an ovenproof skillet or pan, add the olive oil and heat.  Meanwhile whisk together the flour, salt and water to a fairly thick pancake batter consistency, then pour into the hot oil.  Now place in your pre-heated oven.  And, that's all folks!  Could bread be any quicker or easier??  Check out his site for the delicious sounding, coconut with curried cauliflower variation on this recipe.

It was the perfect accompaniment to big bowls of soup, which was our supper last night. And, since it's Potluck at  I Heart Cooking Clubs, I'll be bringing this flat bread over today.