Boiling water is the key to softer, stretchier flatbreads

In Taiwan, the place I reside, the flatbreads are each versatile and resilient. They are often folded into numerous flaky layers, flavored with scallions and lard, then formed to carry all kinds of fillings — from eggs and sausage to oozing cheddar cheese. Crispy on the surface, but comfortable and tender inside, these flatbreads are a textural delight.

The key? Boiling water.

Combining scalding sizzling liquid with flour is an age-old bread baking trick. Though this method is most well known in East Asian baking, it’s common, from French ache bouilli (porridge bread) to Scandinavian scalded rye bread.

And it’s notably key to comfortable, stretchy flatbreads in numerous kinds: In Mexico, it’s used to make versatile flour tortillaswhereas in India, it’s what makes roti so pliable. This is why.

Images by Rick Holbrook; meals styling by Kaitlin Wayne

How sizzling water works

When sizzling water is blended with flour, the warmth partially denatures the flour’s proteins and reduces gluten formation. Gluten is the protein in dough that offers it its construction and elasticity. (You may see it in motion through the windowpane checkthe place you stretch a chunk of dough till it turns into skinny and translucent with out tearing.) For some breads you want that robust gluten formation — it is what provides the dough energy, which in flip helps a very good rise. However in flatbreads, that gluten is usually a hindrance. The recent water successfully weakens that stretch — gluten will nonetheless type, however dough gained’t have that very same rubber band-like bounce; this, in flip, leads to a softer, extra pliable dough.

Images by Ed Anderson; meals styling by Rebecca Jurkevich; Prop styling by Gerri Williams

Softer dough that stretches effectively

A sizzling water dough is less complicated to control as a result of it doesn’t have the identical elasticity as doughs the place you want a sturdy gluten growth, so it may be stretched extra simply. Scallion pancakes, a recipe from King Arthur’s forthcoming Large Guide of Bread, and shou zhua bing (Chinese language flatbreads) each profit from this method: The recent water dough could be stretched and layered many instances whereas shaping with out turning into robust or unworkable. Some steamed dumpling recipes use a sizzling water dough to realize papery skinny wrappers, and it’s additionally how potsticker skins could be rolled paper-thin but crisp up superbly within the pan. (Conversely, doughs made with out sizzling water have a stiffer consistency and are more durable to roll out.)

Moist bread and longer shelf life

Past simply affecting gluten formation, including boiling water to a dough makes it extra moist. The recent water pre-gelatinizes the flour’s starches to allow them to soak up extra liquid; the retained moisture prevents the bread from turning into dry or crumbly and promotes a softer texture, making it particularly nice for versatile breads that must be folded, like tortillas and comfortable wrap bread. (This technique will also be used for flatbreads that don’t use wheat flour, like in corn tortillas. The recent water helps bind the dough higher and makes it much less prone to crack.)

Images by Kristin Teig; meals styling by Liz Neily

It’s additionally a superb preservation method. When you’ve ever left bread out and observed it going stale, that’s as a result of a course of referred to as starch retrogradation. As bread cools, starches crystallize, drawing moisture out and inflicting the bread to develop into dry. As a result of a sizzling water dough locks in additional moisture, these flatbreads keep recent longer, and consequently, utilizing sizzling water dough is a good way to increase their shelf life.

The best way to efficiently use this technique

In a big bowl, step by step pour the boiling water into the flour, stirring as you add it with the handle-end of a wood spoon or chopsticks. Don’t pour in all of the water directly, as this could result in uneven hydration or clumping. The flour and sizzling water blended collectively will type a shaggy mass. Then, switch the dough to a frivolously floured floor and knead till clean.

Don’t be afraid to experiment; the new water dough method is flexible in creating softer and longer-lasting baked items. So, the following time you make flatbread, take into account reaching for the kettle.

Discover extra sensible strategies and well-tested recipes in The Large Guide of Breadaccessible for pre-order now and launching on October 22!

Cowl photograph by Rick Holbrook; meals styling by Kaitlin Wayne.