Chapati

Ingredients:

500g (4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for rolling and dusting
2 tsp sea salt
250ml (1 cup) ghee, plus more as needed

Method:

Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl. Form a well in the middle and add 300ml (1 1/4 cups) room temperature water. Using your fingers bring the flour into the water, rubbing the flour through your fingers in a pinching motion to form small, shaggy bits of dough and tossing the shaggy bits in the dry parts to keep them separate. Now continue mixing, adding splashes of water to any large dry patches of flour and mixing each into the general mass before adding the next, until the shaggy pieces of dough start sticking together and there are no patches of flour left. Take your time here; the whole mixing process should take between 3 ½ and 4 minutes. After all the water is added, the dough should feel lightly sticky; if the dough still seems too dry, add up to 60ml (¼ cup) more water, adding it 1 tbsp at a time.

Transfer the dough to a work surface (or leave it in the bowl) and use your hands to gather it into a ball. Continue kneading the dough, using only a small dusting of flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands, until the ball is smooth and elastic (about 6 to 8 minutes). Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape each into a ball. Grease the balls lightly with olive oil, then transfer them to a parchment paper-lined baking tray and cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap). Set aside to rest until soft to the touch (at least 1 hour).

At this point, transfer one ball of dough (keep the remainder covered) to a lightly floured work surface and use the heel of your hand to flatten into a disk. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a round as thin as you, about 25cm (10 in) in diameter. Peel the round of dough off the work surface and use the tips of your fingers to gently stretch the edge of the dough as you rotate it until it’s paper-thin and you can see through it; be gentle here allowing gravity do most of the work for you.

Once you’ve stretched the edges, place the dough over the backs of your hands and form your hands into fists that are facing each other and touching. Similar to stretching pizza dough, slowly separate your fists and let the dough drag along the backs of your hands to gently stretch until it’s paper-thin all over. (If the dough tears, don’t worry; it will happen on the first piece. Simply press any large tears together and any small tears can be left as they are.) Lay the dough on your work surface (you should be able to see your work surface through the dough) and use the rolling pin to roll over the outer 1cm (½-in) edge so it’s as thin as the remainder of the sheet. The sheet should have a diameter between 30-40cm (13-16 inch) when measured from different positions on the dough.

Pour 1 tbsp ghee onto the dough and use a pastry brush or your fingertips to coat the sheet with the oil. Grab about a 1 tsp sized pinch of flour between your fingers and thumb and sprinkle it evenly over the dough sheet. Starting from the bottom edge, roll the dough upward like a swiss (jelly) roll, moving back and forth along it to shape it into a thin rope, making sure to keep each roll as tight as possible. Pick up the rope, then use your hands to compress it — like making a fist — along its entire length, lightly stretching the rope until it’s an even thickness along its entire length and is between 65-75cm (26-30 in) long.

Starting at one end, roll the rope up into a snail-like spiral and tuck the last 3cm (1 ½-in) end of the rope under the bottom of the spiral. Press lightly to adhere the end under the spiral, then return the spiral to the baking tray where it rested before and cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap). There should be enough oil left on the baking tray and clingfilm (plastic wrap) to keep the spirals from sticking together. Repeat with the remaining dough balls and 7 tbsps olive oil to make 7 more spirals, keeping track of the order you make them and returning each to its spot on the sheet. Let the dough spirals rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. It will take you approximately 40 to 45 minutes from the start of the first ball to the last, so by the time you finish rolling the last spiral, the first one you made should be rested for over an hour.

Place one spiral on a well-floured work surface and gently flatten with the heel of your hand. Sprinkle with more flour, then use a floured rolling pin to flatten into an even 22-25cm (9-10 in disk, about 3mm (1/8-in) thick. Pick the disk up after each roll to ensure it doesn’t stick to the work surface and you get an even round. Place the disk on a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat rolling the remaining spirals, using flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or rolling pin, to make 7 more thin disks, stacking each on top of the last. Once all the disks are rolled and stacked, flip the stack onto another sheet of parchment so the first disk you rolled is now on top.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Pour the remaining 125ml (1/4 cup ghee) into a cup. Lightly brush the bottom of the skillet with some of the olive oil, then place one dough disk in the skillet. Start a timer counting up and cook the disk for 1 minute, or until it bubbles and the top is dry to the touch. Lightly brush the top of the disk with more oil (this should take 10 to 15 seconds), then use a large spatula to flip it in the pan. Cook for 1 minute, brushing the top with more oil while it cooks. Flip the chapati again and cook for another 1 minute, brushing the top with oil while it cooks. Finally, flip the chapati a final time and cook for 1 minute more (from start to finish, it should take about 4 ½ minutes to cook). Flip the chapati out of the skillet and onto a plate; cover with another plate to keep warm. With the skillet still off the heat, brush the bottom with more oil, then return the skillet to the heat and add the next dough disk. Repeat cooking the remaining dough disks in the same fashion, stacking the finished chapati as they are done so they keep each other warm between the plates.

Chapati are best eaten immediately after cooking.

Chapati

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