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Arabic 'pillow' bread


If you have ever traveled to an Arab country, you may have noticed some flat breads that nevertheless seem inflated as if they were pillows. Well, to make those slightly sour-flavored and oddly shaped breads you only need three ingredients and a frying pan. Not even oven. I'm going to explain how they are made in case you want to blow your family away or have an Arabic meal pinching a source of hummus with this bread.

INGREDIENTS :

  • 3 cups filled with flour (600 ml)
  • 1 and a half cups (300 ml) of unsweetened plain yogurt (best Greek type)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder 

If you do not have Greek yogurt or you only find it sugary, know that it can be prepared from natural yogurt. To do this, simply make a small hole in the lid of the conventional plain yogurt pot, turning it over so that the whey drips down. When it stops falling we beat it well with the rods and you already have Greek yogurt.

In a bowl, mix the flour well with the baking powder. Next we add the yogurt and mix well until the resulting mass is too dense to do with a spatula, having to do it with your hands. Knead until it is homogeneous so that when you press with your finger, it gradually recover the initial position.

At that time it is best to let the dough rest for 30 minutes in a cool place and covered by a cloth.

Next we separate the dough into balls about the size of a ping pong ball. Once we have divided the dough into balls, we cover them again and let it rest for another half hour.

On the kitchen marble or other flat surface we sprinkle flour. We place one of the balls made and roll it over until it is round and with an approximate diameter of about 20 cm/8 inches (the size of a plate). It must be quite thin.

We place a frying pan on the fire. The best type of skillet is a large one, at least 20 cm/ 8 inches in diameter, and made of thick iron to keep the heat well. We put on high heat and carefully taking the sheet that we have just made, we take it to the center. You will see that it immediately begins to inflate into the shape of a pillow. Don't keep it like this for a long time or it will burn out. With a spatula you turn it over to make the other side. A minute or a minute and a half should be sufficient for each side. You withdraw and ready to eat.

When you remove the pillow from the heat, it flattens, but the strange shape is still perceptible.

And by the way, it does not have salt. The acidity of the yogurt is enough to give it flavor.