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1 teaspoon salt (5.5 g)

1 ½ cups warm water (350 ml)

USEFUL EQUIPMENT:

a rolling pin

a griddle

long thick oven mitts

a dish towel or other cloth, white linen or muslin

OR

long-handled tongs that are not sharp

These wheaten breads are served all over India, particularly in the North—but they can be enjoyed anywhere in the world. For best flavor, make the dough with fresh stone-ground flour and give it some time to itself before it is cooked; but if need be, the breads can be prepared with whatever whole grain flour you have, and very quickly. Even considering their perhaps unfamiliar shape, they are the best fast bread we know.

Serve with curries or with peanut butter and honey or cheese and tomato or simply butter. Super!

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Slowly add the water, working it into the flour until the dough comes together. It should not be wet, but it should be soft. You can make it slightly stiff at first, then add water as required while you work the dough. Knead until very soft and silky, about 20 minutes. If possible, let the dough rest at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight; if you are in a hurry, make the chapathis right away.

Pinch the dough into about 12 balls, golf-ball size. Keep them covered with a damp cloth while you first round each one smooth, and then, one at a time, flatten them with a rolling pin on a floured board, making them approximately 7 inches across. Don’t roll the pin off the edge of the round or the chapathi’s rim will get too thin. Shape them all, and stack with a little flour and waxed paper between. When you have only a couple to go, heat the griddle. It should be about pancake hot, a medium-high heat. If it is too hot, the chapathis will burn, but if too low, they won’t puff up. Best of all is to work together with a friend, one rolling and the other baking.

Keep an inverted bowl over the uncooked breads while you bake them one by one so that they don’t dry out.

If your griddle is not well-seasoned, put a thin film of oil on it to keep each chapathi from sticking. The chapathis leave flour on the griddle that will burn, so wipe it off as you go along. You will use the dish towel for pressing on the chapathi to encourage them to puff up, and if it is white it stays cooler; form it into a smooth wad that is easy to hold.

Place the first chapathi on the hot griddle and let it sit there for one second, then turn it over. Use the cloth to apply gentle but firm pressure to the top of the cooking chapathi. Concentrate most of your pressing on the area just inside, but not on, the edge. Press down hard, but don’t let the cloth stick to the dough. The object is to help the chapathi form steam pockets; ideally it puffs up like a balloon, filled with its own steam. At first the bread may blister in just a few places. By pressing, you can enlarge these small bubbles. Turn the chapathi over as soon as the bottom browns lightly. It won’t brown evenly, especially if it has made the steam pockets, but will be a pretty pattern of brown and beige. It is done when it is brown nicely on both sides, with no wet-pinkish areas.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

In India, even the youngest cook can make chapathis, but we who did not learn these skills at our mother’s knee will have some experimenting to do before we get the knack. Protect your hands with mitts and your arms with long sleeves, and go slowly at first.

If you have a gas stove that has a high flame, you could try a second cooking method that works better for some people. Instead of pressing the dough on the griddle, let the chapathi cook a few seconds on each side to set the surfaces, and then with tongs pick up the chapathi and hold it over the high open flame. If you are deft, it will balloon without burning.

These wonderful breads are best served immediately, but you can wrap them in towels and keep them warm in the oven until time to eat; don’t let them dry out, though.

Roberta’s Incredible Bagels

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)

¼ cup warm water (60 ml)

2 tablespoons