Note: this piece first appeared in the July 2008 issue of Clark Wellness ForkBytes.
Contributed by Sara Scott (learn about Sara)
A note from Sara: This bread is something that my host Mom, Ja-Ja, makes quite often. They call it a “galette,” but the recipe comes from Algeria, so I often call it Algerian bread. She makes it from memory, so I did my best trying to write it down, especially using customary measurements for us Americans. 1 cup of milk may be used instead of one of the cups of water, if desired, and you may add other ingredients to suit your taste!
1 pound semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup oil (vegetable, sunflower, or olive, preferably)
2 cups water
In a large bowl, mix the flour and the salt. Add the water and stir until well blended. Stir in the oil and continue stirring, again until well blended.
Knead briefly on a floured surface. Add more water to obtain a firmer dough, if necessary. Divide the dough into three balls of equal size.
Place a large sauté pan over medium heat on the stovetop.
Take one ball of dough and continue pressing down on it using the palms of your hands until the dough forms a round shape with the thickness of about 1/2 inch. Make sure that the flat wheel of dough can still lay flat on the pan you are using. When forming the round shape with your palms, start in the center and work your way outwards, moving around in a spiral manner. To form the edges, put one palm on top of the dough round and the other palm along the side, facing the center of the dough round, and work around the dough to form a firm and smooth edge, still about 1/2-inch thick. The process may need to be repeated more than once, even a few times.
Place the round on the heated pan. Grease or oil may not be necessary for the bottom of the pan, but you can use it if you desire. Using a fork, poke holes around the dough round numerous times (about 30 times, more or less). After 3 to 4 minutes flip the bread over and poke holes on this side with the fork in the same manner. Flip the bread over as many times as necessary until the surface of the bread browns on each side and the bread is hard.
While the dough rounds heat in the pan, form the other dough balls into dough rounds as described above. Serve the bread hot or at room temperature, whole or cut into triangle slices using a pizza cutter.
