Parmesan Rosemary Flatbreads

Parmesan Rosemary Flatbreads: "

We sure bake a lot of bread in this house.  I used to make focaccia bread a couple of times a week, but lately this incredibly easy artisan bread has been on our dinner table most nights.  I wanted to get out of that rut and thought I'd make these easy herbed flatbreads for a change.  I hadn't made these in ages but they are easy and fun to make and can be also used as an appetizer.

This delicious bread is sort of a cross between a cracker and a bread.  It's a great excuse to break out your pasta rollers, if you have them.  The dough is divided into small pieces and passed through pasta rollers to make a nice flat bread.  If you don't have pasta rollers, just roll them out by hand but the pasta rollers make it so much easier and faster.  These little breads don't have to be a uniform size or shape - it's kind of rustic anyway if they are not.  

 

Parmesan Rosemary Flatbreads

adapted from Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

for a printable recipe, click here

1 cup warm water
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast 
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil,  plus more for bowl and plastic wrap
15 ounces (about 3 cups) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons honey 
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves

Sicilian salt and silver salt spoon from The Meadow

In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir the water and yeast together.  If using a stand mixer, attach your dough hook.  Add olive oil, flour, salt, and honey and mix on low speed for 1 minute.  Switch to medium speed and mix until dough is soft but not tacky, about 2 minutes.  Add cheese and mix for 1 minute more.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; knead four or five times, forming into a ball.  Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap; let rest for 10 minutes.  Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour or overnight.  Meanwhile, line two baking sheets with parchment.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide dough into 16 equal pieces.  Using a pasta machine, pass dough through the widest setting a couple of times and then pass the dough through the next two thinner settings.  (The thinnest I passed my dough through was #3).  If you don't have pasta rollers, just roll out thinly with a rolling pin.  Transfer pieces of dough to prepared baking sheets.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon water; brush over dough.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and additional cheese and top with sprigs of rosemary.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until crisp and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Bread can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

"