The idea (and flavour combinations) for this flatbread came from Mark Miller’s Flavored Breads, recipes from the Coyote Café, Santa Fe. The savoury smells drifting from your oven mean this is a bread that doesn’t last long after the timer’s ping.
Grate the courgette and parmesan.
This is a dough that starts off wet and becomes wetter because of the moisture in the courgettes. Fear not. The mixing and kneading can take place in the bowl using plastic scrapers.
Pour the water and starter into your mixing bowl and, using a plastic scraper, stir in all of the other ingredients except the courgettes. Allow to stand for ten minutes, then knead the dough in the bowl using two plastic scrapers pushing the dough away from you with one scraper while pulling back towards you with the other. Do this for about a minute.
Rest for ten minutes then repeat.
Rest a third time. Add the courgettes and knead gently into the dough.
Oil a second bowl and scrape the dough into it. Cover and allow to ferment for 3-4 hours.
Have a bowl with flour in handy for flouring the work surface and your hands (it is always useful to have a bowl of flour available when you’re baking).
Oil a pizza tin or a baking sheet. Flour an area of work surface and scrape the dough out onto it. Flour your hands and your scraper.
Working quickly, pick up the dough, very roughly shape it into a round and drop it onto the centre of the pizza tin. Pat it down a little.
Cover with an upturned bowl and prove for an hour.
Oil your hands and press out the dough into a circle about 1cm thick. Cover again for 1-1½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 240C. Pour a little oil into a shallow dish. Dip your fingers in the oil and dimple the dough with them to stop it rising too much when it hits the oven heat.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack. See if you can resist eating it straight away.
The PArtisan Baker 