Flatbread with Poolish

How can one not be intrigued by something called “POOLISH”? I love all sorts of flatbread, but find it complicated to make in the house without excessive smoke, or blackening my pans. And my home oven just doesn’t get hot enough. So the idea of our Rocket Stove came to mind. Great success ! Outdoor cooking on a cast iron pan and the flatbreads took on a wonderful smokey flavor.

I learned of this recipe (originally for Naan bread) on the very entertaining podcast The Recipe Club. This was the contribution by Bryan Ford who was shot down (unfairly I think) as the recipe needs some planning ahead. Its kind of like using dried beans, you just need to start the day before, but the hands on time is minimal.

So Poolish ? A Poolish combines equal parts flour and water with a pinch of yeast. This is then left for a few hours (overnight is good) to bubble up. It’s a type of pre-ferment. This adds flavor to the dough and makes it more digestible.

It was a winner with our family and the rocket stove was a great idea ! The bread was swiftly wrapped around my stepdaughter Sarah’s homemade falafals with some yogurt sauce and crunchy veg making for a delicious lunch !

• Difficulty: easy
• Print

POOLISH – to be made the day before you want to make your flatbreads

150 grams flour

150 grams warm water

½ tsp dried active yeast 

Mix ingredients in a bowl until no dry flour is left. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12 hours (overnight ideally).

FLATBREAD DOUGH

500 grams flour

250 grams poolish

100 grams whole milk

½ tsp dried active yeast

125 grams full fat Greek yogurt

60 grams water (added last in the mix)

50 grams sugar

15 grams salt

Add all ingredients plus 30 grams of water into a bowl initially and squeeze together. Once most of the liquid has absorbed, add the remaining water and squeeze/mix for a few minutes until the dough comes together. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead with the palm of your hand pushing forward and pulling back into the middle with your fingers. Add flour as needed and knead until you have a smooth, round surface. 

Knead dough to smooth out the surface for a few seconds and then place into a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, to ferment for 4 hours. 

After the bulk fermentation, divide the dough into 150 gram pieces. Divide up any extra dough evenly amongst the pieces. Roll each piece of dough tightly into a ball. Cover with a damp/wet paper towel or kitchen towel and let rest for 1.5 hours at room temperature

Use a rolling pin on a floured work surface and roll out your dough balls. You want to roll it out to about 6-7 inches.

If you don’t have a rocket stove, heat a cast iron skillet until VERY hot.

Place the rolled out dough on the hot pan and press down with a spatula. Cook until you see a nice, dark ring/spots form on the underside (about 1 minute or so). Flip and cook for another minute or so until you develop a uniform amount of dark spots.

Any leftovers freeze well in an airtight bag. Defrost slowly in the fridge and heat up in a hot pan with a sprinkle of water.

Bon Appétit !

Bryan Ford’s original recipe for NAAN with Poolish