As I've mentioned, I am the proud owner of Mark Bittman's book Food Matters. It's full of simple, fresh, healthy recipes and it enlightened me on the joys of no-knead bread. That recipe is really great (I have a loaf on the counter as we speak) but requires foresight in the form of 12 to 24 hours of rising time for the dough.
This leads me to my most recent obsession from Bittman's book: whole grain flatbread (also discussed in his New York Times Minimalist column a couple weeks ago). The whole process takes about 40 minutes, perfect for those days when you have no bread in the house or want a quick, cheap dinner. And all the recipe requires is whole wheat flour, salt, olive oil and an oven-proof skillet—things I always have around.
You can top it like a pizza or liven up the dough and have it with a salad or cold toppings (my future plans include lemon-herb ricotta and prosciutto). I personally think that starting the pan with fresh herbs (I used rosemary and oregano the other day) and half a sliced onion leads to the most exciting result. The onions get sweet and the bits closest to the pan brown to the most intense, delicious state. I topped this finished version with some sliced cherry tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, pine nuts and fresh Parmesan, threw it under the broiler for about three minutes and it was out of this world. (I also experimented with a couple whole garlic cloves in the dough—it created these amazing, intense pockets of roasted garlic. Not for the faint of heart.) The olive oil is really the key ingredient—it creates a crunchy, flavorful crust that had my man exclaiming, "You made this?!"
Here is a video of Bittman making the plain version and one with cauliflower and curry.
