Flatbread: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Type of bread}}

{{Infobox food

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A '''flatbread''' is [[bread]] made usually with [[flour]]; [[water]], [[milk]], [[yogurt]], or other liquid; and [[salt]], and then thoroughly rolled into flattened [[dough]]. Many flatbreads are [[Unleavened bread|unleavened]], although some are leavened, such as [[pita bread]]. A [[Serving size|serving]] of 85g (~3 ounces) of pita bread has 234 [[Calorie|calories.]]

Flatbreads range from below one millimeter to a few centimeters thick so that they can be easily eaten without being sliced. They can be baked in an oven, fried in hot oil, grilled over hot coals, cooked on a hot pan, [[tava]], [[Comal (cookware)|comal]], or metal griddle, and eaten fresh or packaged and frozen for later use.

==History==

Flatbreads were amongst the earliest [[food processing|processed foods]], and evidence of their production has been found at ancient sites in [[Mesopotamia]], [[ancient Egypt]], and the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus civilization]]. The origin of all flatbread baking systems are said to be from the [[Fertile Crescent]] in West Asia, where they would subsequently spread to other regions of the world.

In 2018, charred bread crumbs were found at a [[Natufian]] site called Shubayqa 1 in [[Jordan]] (in [[Harrat ash Shaam]], the Black Desert) dating to 12,400 BC, some 4,000 years before the start of [[agriculture]] in the region. Analysis showed that they were probably from flatbread containing wild [[barley]], [[einkorn wheat]], [[oats]], and ''[[Bolboschoenus]] glaucus'' [[tuber]]s (a kind of rush).

[[Primitive clay oven#Tannour / Tannur|Primitive clay ovens]] (''tandir'') used to bake unleavened flatbread were common in Anatolia during the Seljuk and Ottoman eras, and have been found at archaeological sites distributed across the Middle East. The word ''tandır'' comes from the Akkadian ''tinuru'', which becomes ''tannur'' in Hebrew and Arabic, ''tandır'' in Turkish, and ''tandur'' in Urdu/Hindi. Of the hundreds of bread varieties known from cuneiform sources, unleavened ''tinuru'' bread was made by adhering bread to the side walls of a heated cylindrical oven. This type of bread is still central to rural food culture in this part of the world, reflected by the local folklore, where a young man and woman sharing fresh ''tandır'' bread is a symbol of young love, however, the culture of traditional bread baking is changing with younger generations, especially with those who reside in towns showing preference for modern conveniences.

=== Europe ===

[[File:Pane carasau.jpg|thumb|[[Pane carasau]] from [[Sardinia#Cuisine|Sardinia]]]]

* [[Saj bread|Yufka]] ([[Turkey]]): wheat flour, water and salt

=== Middle East and Africa ===

[[File:Lavash.jpg|thumb|[[Georgian cuisine|Georgian]] [[tonis puri]]]]

* [[Eish merahrah]] ([[Egypt]]): made with 5–10% ground [[fenugreek]] seeds and [[maize]]

* [[Gurassa (bread)]] ([[Sudan]])

* [[Injera]] ([[Horn of Africa]]): teff flour

* [[Khebz]] ([[Levant]])

* [[Khubz]] ([[Arabian Peninsula]])

* [[Maryam's Bread]] (Arabian Peninsula)

* [[Ash cake|Khubz al-Jamri]] ([[Arabia]], [[Yemen|Northern Yemen]]): ash cake made by burying dough in hot ashes and embers

* [[Kisra]] ([[Sudan]])

* [[Lavash]] ([[Armenia]] and [[Iran]])

* [[Zhingyalov hats|Zhingyalov Hats]] ([[Armenia]]): flatbread filled with herbs and spices

* [[Malooga]] ([[Yemen]]): water, yeast, salt and flour

* [[Markook shrek|Markook]] ([[Levant]])

* [[Taftan (bread)|Taftan]] ([[Iran]])

=== Central Asia ===

[[File:Taj Lepeshki.jpg|thumb|A selection of [[Tajik cuisine|Tajik]] [[Naan|non]] ([[naan]])]]

* Tapansha, Taba nan ([[Kazakhstan]])

===East Asia===

[[File:Cooking_Jingzhou_style_guokui.jpg|thumb|Taking [[Jingzhou]]-style ''[[guokui]]'' out of the oven]]

* [[Bindaeddeok]] ([[Korea]]): pancake made from mung bean flour

* [[Bing (Chinese flatbread)|Bing]] ([[China]])

* [[Hotteok]] ([[Korea]]):

===South Asia===

[[File:Butter Naan With Paneer Butter Masala.jpg|thumb|[[India]]n [[naan]] served with [[paneer makhani|paneer butter masala]]]]

* [[Puri (food)|Puri]] ([[Indian subcontinent]]): prepared from dough of atta and salt

* [[Ragi rotti]] ([[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]])

* [[Roti]] ([[Indian subcontinent]])

* [[Rumali roti]] ([[Indian subcontinent]])

* [[Taftan (bread)|Taftan]] ([[Indian subcontinent]] and [[Iran]])

===Southeast Asia===

[[File:Piaya_flatbread_(Philippines)_01.jpg|thumb|''[[Piaya (food)|Piaya]]'' flavored with ''[[Dioscorea alata|ube]]'' (purple yam) and [[muscovado]] sugar]]

* [[Aparon]] ([[Philippines]])

* [[Bánh]] ([[Vietnam]])

* [[Roti tissue]] ([[Indonesia]] and [[Malaysia]])

=== Americas ===

[[File:Balboa 20 bg 120603.jpg|thumb|Preparing [[tortilla]]s]]

* [[Tortilla de Rescoldo]] ([[Chile]]): wheat [[flour]] based bread, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire

===Australia===

*[[Damper (food)|Damper]] (traditionally)

==See also==

{{portal|Food}}

* [[List of breads]]

==Further reading==

* 2005. "High-Profile Flatbreads - Say Goodbye to Insipid White Bread When Tortillas and Flatbreads Come to Town". FOOD PRODUCT DESIGN -NORTHBROOK-. 15, no. 1: 96–114. {{ISSN|1065-772X}}.

* Kahlon, Talwinder Singh, and Mei-Chen Maggie Chiu. 2014. "Ancient Whole Grain Gluten-Free Flatbreads". Food and Nutrition Sciences. 05, no. 17: 1717–1724.

{{Flatbreads}}

{{Bread}}

{{Wheat}}

[[Category:Unleavened breads| ]]

[[Category:Ancient dishes]]