grilled flatbreads & rosemary butter
These flatbreads are the perfect thing to knock up on the bbq, smother in rosemary butter, and leave for your guests to eat alongside all the other wonderful food you’re producing. They have a perfect soft, chewy interior, and that charred crust smoky that only comes with flame-grilling. You can also cook these in a hot oven or a dry frying pan if you aren’t rolling out the bbq, they just won’t have the same charred crust.
The dough only takes an hour to make, including proving time, so it really is one of the simplest breads to make. I love melting a butter alongside the bread and brushing eat one with lashings of it. The bread will soak it all in resulting in the most amazing combination of flavour and texture.
I think these flatbreads are the perfect way to start a bbq, allowing your guests to devour them whilst you prep the rest of the food. Just be sure to knock up another batch to sit alongside the main course, you’ll be wishing for more if you don’t.
for the flatbreads
500g strong white bread flour
3 tsp dried active yeast
1 tbsp white sugar
0.5 tsp sea salt
300ml room temperature water
for the rosemary butter
50g good quality butter
3 rosemary sprigs
flaky sea salt
method
Start by putting the flour into a large bowl.
Make a well in the middle and pour in half of your water.
Add the yeast and sugar to the water and stir together.
Then, add the salt and start to bring the flour and water together.
This will start to create a stodgy mess so, little by little, add more water until the dough comes together. You may not need all the water as different flours absorb in different ways. Just keep going until all the flour is incorporated and the dough feels like it’s starting to become a little stretchy.
Next, tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for around 5 minutes until it becomes silky and elastic. The dough will probably go through a really sticky stage, but be confident and work through it. You can add a little more flour to your hands if it’s becoming unmanageable, but eventually it’ll get to a point where it is more interested in sticking to itself than the surface.
Sprinkle a little flour onto the top of your dough and flip it into a clean bowl.
Cover with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm place for around 45 minutes. You want it to double in size, so it might take a little more or less time. Just keep tabs on it.
When you are ready to cook, tear chunks off your dough and stretch them out to around half an inch thick. Don’t worry too much about the difference in size, it’s the thickness that counts. I really like having an assortment of sizes and shapes, just to add to the rustic effect.
Mix the butter with the leaves of 3 sprigs of rosemary and place it on top of your bbq to melt.
Brush a little oil on your grill and place the flatbreads straight on top.
They will puff up immediately, so make sure to keep watch. Once they are browned on the bottom, flip them over. It shouldn’t take any more than 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side.
Remove from the heat and brush with lashings of the melted rosemary butter. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve as warm as you can.
Repeat the cooking process until you are out of dough.
