Yogurt and Olive Oil Flatbreads

A Quick and Simple Flatbread Recipe

Hey, everyone!

I spent most of the past week and a half in Upstate NY— one of my favorite places in the entire world at this time of year.

Whenever I spend extended time in a given place, I try to dive into the local food scene to explore what that particular part of the world has to offer. In Texas, I had access to some of the most incredible meat I’ve ever eaten. In Southern California the produce was world-class. In Tulum I had got top-quality seafood. Upstate NY has a bunch of gems, but the dairy is really what stands out to me. There are so many small producers making incredible local milk, cheese, yogurt, and more.

Every place on earth has some local gems, and once you discover them it’s super fun to build meals around them. One night while I was up there we cooked Persian food. I wanted to create a lavash-style flatbread, but I didn’t have time to do anything that required the use of yeast. Instead I ended up freestyling something that turned out really well. I started with a base that was similar to flour tortillas, but I used olive oil instead of the usual animal fat. And then instead of just hydrating it with water, I added some amazing local yogurt for additional body and a bit of tang. The combination was fantastic.

I cooked these over the open fire, but you can easily make them in a hot cast iron pan. I finished them with a brush of olive oil and some Silk chile and Za’atar from Burlap & Barrel.

Yogurt and Olive Oil Flatbreads

A few notes on ingredients.

I love making flatbreads with Sonora flour because it’s so incredibly soft and flavorful. If you can track that down, it will work great here.

For the yogurt, make sure you’re not using Greek yogurt as it’s too thick for this. The yogurt is helping to hydrate the bread, so you want something that’s more runny than a Greek-style yogurt.

I didn’t give an exact measurement for the water because I didn’t measure it myself. You want to add it bit by bit until the dough comes together. Then keep kneading, and add a tiny bit more as needed until it comes together into a smooth dough.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or Sonora flour

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1/4 ish cup yogurt

• salt

• water

Process

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and a couple big pinches of salt, mixing it around to distribute the salt evenly.

2. Drizzle in the olive oil, mixing the flour with your hands to distribute it. Use your hands to gently press and mix the olive oil into the flour until the flour absorbs the oil and the whole mixture has a mealy texture.

3. Build a well in the center and add in your yogurt. Use your hands to mix that into the flour.

4. Once the yogurt is well-incorporated, slowly drizzle in water bit by bit and mix it into the dough.

5. Keep adding water in small increments— once the dough comes together, start kneading it until it forms a smooth ball (adding more water as needed throughout the process).

6. Once it has formed a smooth ball, cover it with a damp paper towel and allow it to rest for 20 min.

7. After 20 min, form the dough into smaller balls for rolling. They should be about double the size of a golf ball. Lay them out on a sheet tray, and then cover with a damp paper towel and allow them to rest another 20 min.

8. Place the dough ball on a floured work surface and press it flat. Turn it over to get a bit of flour on both sides. Using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle, if you don't have one), roll the dough ball into a large, flat circle.

9. Pre-heat a cast iron to medium-high heat.

10. Cook the flatbreads on one side, rotating it as you cook. Once it starts to bubble up, flip it and do the same on the other side. You can flip it multiple times and cook until it’s bubbled up, cooked through, and has some light spots of browning.

11. Wrap the flatbreads in a kitchen towel until they’re all cooked and then serve immediately!