Spelt Pita, Naan or Flat Bread

Spelt Pita, Naan and Flat Bread are super easy to make at home, with very few ingredients. They taste so much better than anything you can get at the supermarket and are so much better for us. I’ve come to a place in my kitchen journey where I’m comfortable making bread and really wish I’d done it sooner. I urge you to try it.

Pictured below is Naan Bread which is delicious with Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Madras.

Pita is delicious with with just about any Middle Eastern mezze including Baba Ganoush, Lubia, Hummous, Hummous Awarma. Or main dishes like Lamb Shawarma, Shish Tawook and Foul Moudammas.

I use Spelt Flour as it’s nutritionally superior to wheat, and is less inflammatory, but you could experiment with different Flours. The gluten in spelt has a different molecular make up to the gluten in modern wheat, making it easier to digest. It’s also higher in fibre which aids in the digestion of gluten. Spelt contains more protein, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals than wheat, and is rich in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and niacin. It’s important to use White Spelt Flour, not Whole Grain in this recipe.

Pita, Naan and Flat Bread are very similar and you can make them all with very few tweaks. Let me know if you try this, and if you make adjustments to types of flour, or seasonings; would love to hear from you.

Organic Ingredients, makes 8 Pitas

290 Grams or mls. Water
10 Grams Sea Salt
8 Grams Brown Sugar
5 Grams Active Dry Yeast (make sure Yeast in newly bought, and if opened stored in an airtight container, as they can become inactive)
500 Grams White Spelt Flour
1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil or melted Butter (for brushing Naan or Flat Bread at the end, omit for Pita)
1 Cup Nigella Seeds, for Naan

Notes

You can season with Olive Oil or Butter with fresh crushed Garlic if desired before brushing onto bread.
If making Naan, add Nigella Seeds into the dough at the beginning stage, with the flour. Nigella Seeds are also called Black Caraway Seeds.
For Naan bread, you’ll want the pan high, and to cook the bread until it starts browning a little more heavily, to get that ‘cooked in a tandoor feel’. For Pita and Flat Bread, heat the pan to medium high heat and cook until golden and just starting to brown.
It’s important to use White Spelt and not Whole Grain Spelt for this recipe.
If making Pita, roll all your dough balls out into thin rounds, set them on a well floured surface and cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for 10 minutes before cooking. Always start off with the one you rolled out first, as it would’ve had more time to rest. Don’t use Oil or Butter for Pita.

To make Dough, place Water in a small pot and heat to just above room temperature, so that it’s lukewarm. Place Water in a large glass or stainless steel bowl. Add Sea Salt, Sugar and Yeast to the liquid and using a whisk, mix well to incorporate. Add Flour into the mixture and using your hands mix well until you form a ball. Once you’ve formed a ball, place your ball on a wooden chopping board or work surface to knead.

Here is a video on how to knead dough. Knead for approx. 10 minutes, then form into a smooth ball and place it into your large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Pop into the oven on ‘proof’ setting and leave to proof for 1.5 hours. By this point the Dough should’ve more than doubled in size. If it hasn’t, something went wrong, likely that your yeast was inactive.

Sprinkle a little bit of Flour on top of your dough ball - about 1/2 a teaspoons worth and on your fingers. Using your fingers, release the dough from the bottom of the bowl going round the bowl until its all released. With your fingers under the dough ball, and the sprinkled flour on top, flip the ball onto a chopping board. Flatten the dough a little so that it forms a circular shape. Using a knife or dough cutter cut down the center horizontally and vertically so you have 4 equal pieces; cut again so that you have 8 equal pieces. Remove your first piece, and on a lightly floured surface, fold a few times and form into a ball. Leave to rest on the side as you fold the the other 7 pieces and form into balls. Remember the sequence in which you formed your dough balls as you’ll want to roll out your first ball first, as it would’ve had time to rest. Heat a pan stove top to high heat, a cast iron skillet is perfect for this. Starting with the first dough ball your formed, roll out your dough into a flat round piece. Make it as thin as you can without breaking the dough. As soon as it’s rolled out, pop it into the hot pan to cook the base. Once the dough starts forming air bubbles and the base is brown in areas, flip and brush with Olive Oil or melted Butter, unless making Pita, in which case don’t. Cook for a minute or so more until the bottom sides to brown again. Flip again and brush with Oil or Butter, unless making Pita, in which case don’t. Remove from pan and set aside while you roll out and cook the rest, one by one. I like to stack my bread with parchment paper between each slice when using Butter or Oil. Serve immediately or once cooled store in an airtight bag or container and reheat in the oven before enjoying.

Spelt Pita, Naan or Flat Bread

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