Flatbreads: Old World Meets New

During the past 100 years, we have seen many changes in the baking industry. Regardless of the many forms it takes, bread is still one of the oldest and most universal foods eaten today. And while some bread is baked to great heights, others are left flat.

A flatbread can be described simply as a baked grain product often made without the benefit of adequate gluten or gluten development. It can be a single- or double-layer creation. It can be baked, fried, steamed or dried. It can be round, rectangular, square or of no regular shape. The dough can be from a sole type of flour or a mixture of several. The types vary by region, climate, holiday and culture.

The world is flat

The term “flatbread” means different things to different cultures, running the gamut from Hispanic tortillas and arepas to Mediterranean pitas, Asian roti and African injera.

Tortillas. One of the most-familiar mass-produced flatbreads is the tortilla—now as much a household staple in the United States as white bread.

Tortillas have been around an estimated 9,000 years and can be made from ground corn or wheat flour. In “Gourmet Tortillas: Exotic and Traditional Tortilla Dishes,” Karen Howarth notes corn tortillas are a staple of southern Mexico, while northern Mexico enjoys flour and corn tortillas equally. All tortillas are single-layer, unleavened products.

Corn tortilla ingredients include corn treated with lime; this “nixtamal” is then washed and coarsely ground to produce masa, which is formed into flat cakes, and cooked. They can be hand shaped, a vanishing art, or flattened with a tortilla press. In the Mexican tradition, they are cooked on a comal, a heavy, cast-iron griddle.