My Kitchen My World -- Macedonia

For My Kitchen My World -- destination Macedonia, I found a recipe online for Macedonian Bread and after reading through the directions I thought these would turn out like mini pita type flatbreads and they did. These were very easy to make and puffed up with little pockets.

Before I get to the recipe, I have to tell a little story about a pen pal I had (back when I was in school) that lived in Macedonia. After we had been pen pals for a while I got a surprise letter saying that my pen pal's family had won a visa lottery of sorts to leave Macedonia and come to America and he wondered if I could help his family get to the USA. I got my mom involved and soon we found a Macedonian church that would help his family start out their American dream, it was such an adventure going to the airport -- not for a vacation but to welcome a family to the USA for the first time. I remember us leaving the airport and driving my pen pal and his family to a Macedonian home for a big welcome dinner. Here we were, three families who had never met before, all sitting down to share a wonderful meal and coming together like we were one big family. I'm so sorry to say I lost touch with this pen pal many years ago, I hope he and his family are doing well and would love to sit down now that we are 'all grown up' and reconnect.

Macedonian Bread

(mini flatbreads)

1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine yeast with 1 1/2 cups of flour. Combine water, oil, salt, and sugar and add to yeast mixture. Beat for 1/2 minute with an electric mixer at low speed; then beat for 3 minutes at high speed. Work in remaining flour by hand to form a smooth and elastic dough.

Put in a greased bowl in a warm spot, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes. Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces, and roll each into a ball. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Flatten each ball into a 5-inch circle. Place on a greased baking sheet; cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 200°C. (392 F -- I used 395)

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned on bottom. Immediately wrap in foil and cool.

These were delicious little breads, open to lots of serving possibilities, I think I'd like them best served with a Greek style salad or falafel -- or both. They were also great with butter and guava jelly :) My favorite part of this recipe is the step at the end about wrapping the breads in tin foil and letting them cool wrapped up. This provided a great chewy texture that I'm used to restaurant flatbreads having, but I haven't been able to recreate at home until now. This is a great recipe to start with if you are nervous about making a pita type bread. I'd love to use it again and add some herbs and maybe garlic to the dough, yum!

If you would like to cook along with us as we "travel" the globe through recipes, please visit My Kitchen My World, next up: The Bahamas!