Jun 19
2009

Tibetan Flatbread, the Perfect Soup Dunking Bread

in Bread, Recipes by Type, Uncategorized

I am a dunker. How about you? When it comes to eating soup, I have to have something to dunk into the liquid to eat along with it. I love a spongy bread or biscuit that will soak up some of the soup liquid without falling apart. I recently saw an episode of Jacques Pépin's show, More Fast Food My Way, where he made a quick Tibetan Flatbread on the stove in a frying pan. It looked so good that I knew I was going to have to try it. *Random Side note: I love Jacques Pépin and just want to reach through the TV screen to hug him. I just think he is adorably wonderful.* When I was getting ready to make the kabocha soup that I told you about in my last post, I decided that it would be the perfect meal to eat the flatbread with, since it looked like it would make a great dunking bread. The dough takes only about a minute to mix up,
and then you put it in a cold frying pan with some olive oil already in it,
spread out the dough, and then add a few tablespoons of water around the edges to help the bread steam, and then stick a lid on the pan and let it cook for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
Then you flip the bread over and cook the other side for about 5 minutes.
When it's done, pull it out and let it cool on a plate for a few minutes.
Then cut it into wedges and serve!
The texture of this bread is fabulous–springy, soft, and slightly chewy. The flavor is very light, which is great for dunking since the bread flavors don't overpower the flavors of what you are eating it with. I used half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour in my dough so that it would be a bit healthier (and I love the flavor and texture that my favorite King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour gives to stuff).
The bread paired perfectly with the kabocha soup.
It soaked up just the right amount of flavor, without falling apart, and was very satisfying.
Mmmm, I think I need to make some more of that bread. But what to make with it? Maybe some pumpkin curry? Or chicken orzo ginger soup? Or maybe some veggie chili? Too many choices!

Tibetan Flatbread
Adapted from Jacques Pépin's More Fast Food My Way, Episode 221, Bread Flip

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. water, separated
1 Tbsp. olive oil
 

** Please note, steps 1 through 3 are all done before you ever turn on the stove!

1. Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt with 1 cup water to form a gooey dough.

2. Add olive oil to a cold 12-inch saute pan. Then add the dough, dip a rubber spatula in the oil and use it to spread the dough out a bit.

3. Pour the 2 tablespoons of water around the edge of the dough and cover the pan with a lid.

4. Put the saute pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.

5. Flip the bread over and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

6. Let the bread cool briefly, cut and serve.

* It's not too late! You have until this evening at 10:00 Pm PST (Friday, June 19, 2009) to enter to win a set of my favorite measuring spoons! (Go here for instructions on how to enter).

{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }

Cookin' Canuck June 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Yes, I'm a dunker. This bread definitely looks dunk-worthy!

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chaya June 19, 2009 at 3:05 pm

This looks terrific and my husband woulod love it. Now, I have to find a way to make it gluten free. Where there is a will, there is a way…..I hope.

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Fuji Mama June 19, 2009 at 3:07 pm

chaya– If you figure out a way, I'd love to hear about it!

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Marianne Guymon June 20, 2009 at 7:13 am

This looks really yummy, I think I'll take a stab at it later this week! Thanks!

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tokyoterrace June 21, 2009 at 12:35 am

This is such a perfect recipe for me in Tokyo! Since I don't have an oven, I miss out on a lot of baking, but this is great! I will definitely be giving this a try. Thanks!

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Bettina Groh June 21, 2009 at 8:48 am

My daughter spent her Peace Corps years in Morocco where she came to love flat bread ( with any and everything). So we're going to give this a try!

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Sarah June 22, 2009 at 11:29 am

Ditto to what Tokyoterrace said!

Also, I'm definitely a dunker but I get bored with the bread selections available to me. This looks great!

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Fuji Mama June 22, 2009 at 11:36 am

tokyoterrace and Sarah– I can totally sympathize with the no oven plight, having lived in Japan and done the same thing! I'm going to to come up with some more recipes that will work in your kitchens!

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Meg June 22, 2009 at 1:46 pm

I am totally a dunker and am eating soup right now at my desk. I wish I had that bread to dunk in it! I am going to try making it this weekend. Does it last a few days?

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Ann June 22, 2009 at 1:56 pm

this sounds yumm and sort of like Indian Flat breads :) Haveing it with soups tempts me :)

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Fuji Mama June 22, 2009 at 2:57 pm

Meg– Like lots of breads it's best fresh, but yes, it will last a couple of days!

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Zo June 22, 2009 at 5:52 pm

Hiya,
Tried making this earlier today, but it got stuck to the pan and burnt horridly :( When do you turn on the heat? Exactly after you've covered it? I preheated my oil, maybe that's why it stuck, and also, I didn't use a non stick pan (I don't have one that large)…help!
Zo

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Fuji Mama June 22, 2009 at 6:36 pm

Zo– Bummer! You put the oil in, and then the dough (and pat it out), all while the pan is still cold. Then you pour the water in, cover it, and turn on the heat. You may want to check it while it's cooking, just in case your pan is getting too hot during the process as well. Depending on your stove, you may want to turn it before the 10 minutes are up. You don't need a non-stick pan…that's just what I grabbed! I hope that helps!

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Lori June 22, 2009 at 8:01 pm

I'm a sucker for breads like this. It looks so good!

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diva June 23, 2009 at 11:43 am

fuji mama, i'm a pure dunker too!! sloppy slurpy 100% dunkin' ;) love this flatbread…wish i had some to scoop up my Covent Garden soup xx

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Confession Nook June 23, 2009 at 4:23 pm

La Fuji Mama..you are one of the most fun and creative mommie i know! and because of that..I have chosen you to have this award The "Creative Mom Blogger Award" which you can see at my site…=)..

keep cookin'!

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Tangled Noodle June 30, 2009 at 1:23 pm

This is the first time I've heard of Tibetan flatbread and it looks delicious, especially with the soup. But I imagine it's very versatile and would go with so many other things. Do you think it could be 'stuffed' like naan? I'm saving this immediately!

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Lisa Li December 6, 2009 at 8:36 am

Adding exactly when you turn on the heat and how high the heat should be would be a big help here. You omitted those things  from your recipe. Kind of impossible to try this without those elements noted.

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Fuji Mama (Rachael) December 6, 2009 at 9:22 am

Lisa Li– Thank you for your feedback! No one is perfect! I specify in my post and in the recipe in steps 2 and 3 that the dough and oil are put into a cold pan. The recipe notes in step four that you cook everything on medium-high heat. I have gone back and clarified that steps 1 through 3 are done all before the stove is ever turned on. Thanks!

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Angie Butcher January 8, 2010 at 5:26 pm

I made the Roasted Kabocha Squash soup and this bread to go with. My pan heats up really hot with the lid on so I sortof burnt the first side but it still turned out very yummy and extra crispy. It looked just like yours. Thanks!

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Fuji Mama (Rachael) January 10, 2010 at 1:25 pm

Angie– So glad it worked out for you, thanks for letting me know!

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bobbinis-kitchen.com March 22, 2010 at 12:28 am

Interesting recipe that you’ve revealed. Ideal sidedish for soups or stews indeed.
Thank you for the precise directions and the photographies.
Have a nice day!

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Karly April 29, 2010 at 9:45 pm

I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s fantastc! I like to dice up an onion, fry it up, and mix it into the batter. Delicious!

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Shawndra June 6, 2010 at 8:52 am

I’m so glad to see that you tried this recipe. I love Jacques Pepin too (in fact, I’ve promised my kids a car if they can find a way to get him to our house for dinner), and I’ve looked at this recipe a couple of times and wondered if it was as good as it looked. I’ll have to give it a shot now!

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Jordan August 15, 2010 at 4:13 pm

I made this for the second time, today! I’ve had to experiment a little with cooking times to get it just how I like it (soft + fluffy, with a golden crust). This second time around I mixed in some dried herbs to make it more of a Foccacia-style flatbread. Turned out wonderful. Could be good for dipping in Balsamic and EVOO. Yum.

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Dalia July 26, 2011 at 4:09 am

@Jordan, Your bread looked so yummy, I had to try it. I’m not sure what went wrong, but mine did not puff up nicely. There were bubbles, but it was more pancake-y than bready really, with a gummy texture. Could it be my baking powder? It’s been performing well in everything else I bake though. My flour possibly? Aaaah, I want to get this right.

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Brad August 21, 2011 at 11:19 pm

The same happened to me, as happened to Dalia :S … The inside stayed almost doughy, and it just didn’t rise at all.

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Mike June 19, 2014 at 6:05 am

Same here. The inside is too wet. Have no idea, what’s wrong. The recipe seems to be very close to Pepins instructions.

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Manny Santiago October 2, 2011 at 7:47 am

For a gluten free alternative to your tasty bread: Substitute brown rice for the whole wheat, and tapioca for the all-purpose flours, add 1 tsp. of Xanthan gum (mix dry ingredients well before adding water, oil, etc.), but otherwise don’t change a thing.

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Clarissa September 29, 2012 at 2:23 am

Hi there, I was wondering how long can this bread keep for?

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SHOX November 26, 2012 at 8:12 am

hi
what size of a cup you use? (ml)
tnx

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Clara December 30, 2013 at 5:52 pm

Awesome! Its genuinely awesome post, I have got much clear idea on
the topic of from this piece of writing.

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Mike June 19, 2014 at 6:02 am

Hi, thanks for sharing! I’ve tried this bread several times exactly according to your instructions. It has never turned out well. It was quite flat and more important the dough was still too wet inside. A longer cooking time did not really make it better. Any ideas what goes wrong?

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Rick February 10, 2017 at 6:11 am

same here – I am going to get a new double acting baking powder and try one more time – seems as if I can’t get the dough to rise enough in the cooking – more cooking time does not help – it must be the ingredient, the baking powder must be “flat”

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Fuji Mama (Rachael) February 23, 2017 at 5:04 pm

Let me know if that works for you Rick! It’s definitely a flat bread, so the rise isn’t going to be super high.

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