Sesame Flatbread Recipes

SESAME FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat a baking sheet under the broiler. Divide 1 pound refrigerated pizza dough into 4 balls; coat with olive oil and season with salt. Roll in 1/4 cup sesame seeds. Thinly stretch out the dough and broil, two at a time, on the hot baking sheet until golden, 3 minutes per side. Serve with plain Greek yogurt mixed with harissa and olive oil.

SESAME FLATBREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup warm water (154 grams), yeast and sugar. Let the mixture stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture and butter or canola. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a dish towel. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough and knead it for 2 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a ball into an 8-inch circle. Brush with sesame oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Fold in all four sides of the circle to meet in the middle, forming a rectangle. Roll the dough again to 8 inches in diameter, then brush with sesame oil, fold in the sides again and roll to 8 inches. Brush the surface with additional sesame oil and transfer dough to a large greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. (You may need to use several baking sheets, or bake in batches, keeping unrolled dough loosely covered with plastic wrap or a dish towel until ready to use.)
• Bake until golden and slightly puffed, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.

SHAO BING

Steps:

• To make the roux, in a small pan over medium heat, heat the oil for 1 minute, or until the surface starts to shimmer slightly. Add the flour and, using a heatproof spatula or a small whisk, stir quickly to combine. Reduce the heat to low. Stir the mixture constantly for about 3 minutes, or until the color of the roux resembles peanut butter. Remove the pan from the heat. Continue to stir for about 1 minute, letting the residual heat from the pan brown the roux even more. Scrape the roux into a heatproof bowl and set aside.
• To make the shao bing, put the flour in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and, using a spatula or a wooden spoon, stir quickly to distribute. Add the cold water and stir to combine. As the dough forms, you can use your hands to start bringing the dough together. If it feels too dry, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm tap water. Once you've worked all the flour into the mound of dough, take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on a work surface for 2 minutes, or until smooth. The dough should feel damp but not sticky.
• Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 18 inches long by 12 inches wide and ¼ inch thick; be sure the longer edge is parallel to the edge of your work surface. Stir the roux a few times. Using a spatula or large spoon, spread about 4 tablespoons of the roux on the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle the salt over the roux. (It may seem like it's too much salt but it isn't.)
• Starting from the longer edge of the rectangle, roll the dough into a cylinder, then seal the ends by pinching the edges together to create a seam. Cut the cylinder of dough into 8 equal segments.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Turn each segment of the dough so that the seam is on the bottom and the cut edge (where you see the coil of dough) is facing you. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 5 inches long by 3½ inches wide and ¼ inch thick. Flip the rectangle so that the seam side is now facing up. Trifold the rectangle as if you were folding a letter. With the folded edge perpendicular to you, roll out the dough again into a rectangle about 5 inches long by 3½ inches wide. Repeat the trifold and set aside, with the flap facing down. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
• Put the sesame seeds on a small plate. Brush a little water on the surface of each piece of dough. Dip the moistened sides into the sesame seeds. With the seed side up, roll each dough into a rectangle about 5 inches long by 3½ inches wide and ¼ inch thick. Place the bread on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the breads and bake for 4 minutes more, or until the breads puff up and have a lightly browned color on the surface.
• Remove the breads from the oven and let them cool slightly before serving.

SESAME FLATBREAD CRACKERS

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Pulse together flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until well mixed. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. (Alternatively, whisk together dry ingredients and cut in butter with a pastry blender.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt and 1 cup sesame seeds until mixture forms a dough. Divide dough into quarters, wrapping each in plastic wrap. Chill 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Make glaze:
• Stir together eggs, sugar, and soy sauce with a fork until sugar is dissolved.
• Roll out dough:
• Divide 1 dough quarter into 12 equal portions and form each into a 4-inch log with your hands. With a floured rolling pin, roll out each log into a 12- to 14-inch strip on a lightly floured surface. Transfer strips to 2 greased baking sheets. Brush strips with glaze and sprinkle with one fourth of remaining sesame seeds.
• Bake crackers:
• Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, 20 minutes total, or until glaze is golden brown and crackers are crisp. Transfer to racks to cool. Make more crackers in same manner.