In another life, I must have lived in a Mediterranean country, I’m sure! You know why? Because I love Mediterranean food! Olive oil, garlic, fresh tomatoes, ratatouille, yellow peppers… all this brings me joy and makes my mouth water!
Falafel is one these foods I love, and it has the advantage of being made with chickpea flour, which is naturally gluten free – and delicious! But falafel is associated with pitta bread… and pitta bread is not naturally gluten free, is it? So, I had to find a way of making a gluten free version of it, so I could enjoy, once again, my falafel the way I used to, back in those days when I didn’t know what damage gluten was doing to my poor gut.
I found this pitta bread recipe on the bbc.co.uk site and it works really well. As usual, I make a big batch and freeze some of the breads for later use.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
For about 15 pitta breads
- 20 g psyllium husk powder
- 7 g dried yeast
- 10 g sugar
- 500 g gluten free bread flour mix (I use Schaer mix B – see products used)
- 2 eggs
- 6 g salt
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (I use white balsamic vinegar)
- 40 g olive oil
- 400 ml water – used in two 200 ml goes
Method:
- Place 200 ml of water and the dried yeast in a big bowl.
- Sprinkle the sugar on the mix and let it rest for ten minutes to activate the yeast (see baking bread) .
- Place the other 200 ml water and the psyllium husk powder in another bowl. Mix well until it thickens (see picture below).
- When the yeast is activated, add the flour, salt, eggs, vinegar, olive oil and psyllium/water mix to the big bowl (see picture below).
- Using the hand mixer with kneading hooks, mix this well (see picture below). Be prepared – it takes a bit of time! First it will seem to you that there isn’t enough liquid, but if you go on kneading, the dough will come together. It takes me nearly ten minutes of kneading though, so just be patient. (I must admit that every time I make these, it occurs to me that I could invest in a Kitchen Aid… lol!)
- Let the dough rise for about an hour – it won’t rise very much, don’t worry, it’s normal.
- Take a small portion of dough and make a ball with it, then flatten it so it makes a nice oval/round flat bread. Place on a sheet of non-stick baking paper. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough – you should get about 15 pitta breads. The dough doesn’t stick at all, thanks to the generous amount of psyllium husk powder, so it’s pretty easy to make the breads 🙂
- Brush the breads with a little olive oil mixed with a bit of water (optional – it makes them a little shinier)
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, at 200°C
- Let the breads cool down before slicing them open and filling them up with falafel, salad, tomatoes, or whatever else you fancy.
Hope you enjoy them 🙂
PS: I like to serve our pitta breads with falafel, tomatoes and a little sauce. I just mix a few spoonfuls of natural Greek yogurt with a little salt, a few drops of lemon juice and some chopped coriander. It’s very successful in our family 🙂
