Name: Laffa Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 7 cups unbleached bread flour plus another 1/2 cup for kneading (if needed); 1 1/4 ounce package active dry yeast; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 3 cups warm water

After doing without leavened foods for Passover, bread becomes a delight. The earthy aroma of yeasty fresh bread fills the nostrils and its sublime taste delights the mouth and satisfies some post-Paleo human instincts.

Laffa- thick pillows of chewy bread, are usually made on a hot taboon (a special kind of oven) when served in a restaurant. At home you can cook them on a griddle, on the bottom side of a wok or simply in a frying pan.

Laffa Bread

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1 25

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Servings

Ingredients

7 cups unbleached bread flour plus another 1/2 cup for kneading if needed
1 1/4 ounce package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups warm water

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil and water. If you are making by hand (which is the easiest way), add liquid ingredients to dry ingredient bowl, and mix by hand for a few minutes until dough is well combined and coming together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about ten minutes until smooth and elastic. If you are using a food processor, process for about sixty seconds until a very smooth, soft, and slightly sticky ball forms. If you are using a mixer, mix with dough hook until the dough is very smooth, soft, and elastic.
Place dough in a large oiled bowl, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and then cover it with a tea towel. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free corner. Let rise for about one hour, until the dough has at least doubled in size. Divide the dough into twelve equal balls, and then roll them until smooth. Place the balls on an oiled baking sheet. Cover them with a damp tea towel and let rest for about ten minutes. Resting makes dough easier to roll out since the gluten strands relax.
Heat a flat griddle pan to medium. Alternatively, you can use an upside-down wok or a large frying pan. Take a dough ball in your hands and flatten it out on an oiled wooden surface. Roll it out with a rolling pin or use your hands to make a circle about twelve inches in diameter. Place it on the hot surface. When the edges look dry and bread is expanding turn it over. Laffa only takes a few minutes to grill. Place finished Laffa in between some kitchen towels to keep warm. Laffa is best cooked last minute.
Serve laffa with hummus and vegetables, schwarma, grilled kabobs, grilled kufte, salads or falafel.
You can freeze laffa by wrapping in heavy duty foil and you can reheat them in a 350°F oven still wrapped for a few minutes.
This recipe can be cut in half.
Recipe posted with permission from Sephardic Baking from Nona and More Favorites: A Collection of Recipes For Baking Desayuno And More.