Hazar Turkish Flatbread

Mark Eid al-Fitr, the last day of Ramadan, on June 25 with these delicious flatbreads from Hazar in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. At the restaurant they make this bread fresh three times a day. Once the dough is risen it’s divided, rounded, shaped into dimpled disks, and baked right away.

Makes six 6-inch round flatbreads

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DOUGH

1 1/4 cups room temperature tap water, about 75°F

2 1/4 teaspoons fine granulated active dry or instant yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

3 1/3 cups unbleached bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

EGG WASH
1 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon yogurt

1 teaspoon beaten egg

One large or two smaller jelly-roll pans lined with parchment paper

1. Whisk the water and yeast together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Wait 30 seconds and whisk in the sugar.
2. Use a large rubber spatula to stir the flour into the liquid.
3. Attach the dough hook and beat for 2 minutes on lowest speed. Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
4. Start the mixer again on medium speed and sprinkle in the salt. Mix until the dough is smoother and elastic, about 2 minutes longer. Cover the bowl with oiled or sprayed plastic wrap and let the dough ferment until it doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450˚F. Scrape the dough to a floured work surface and divide it into 6 pieces, each about 50 grams. To round each piece of dough, move one to a flour-free place in front of you, Cup your right hand over the piece of dough so that the top of your palm just beyond your fingers is touching the dough. Press the piece of dough and move your hand in a circular motion at the same time. If you’re pressing hard enough, you’ll be able to feel the dough turning into a sphere. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
6. When you’re ready to bake, make the egg wash by combining the ingredients and lightly brush the top of each piece of dough.
7. One at a time, form the breads by pressing down on the rounds of dough with the joined fingertips of each hand meeting in the middle making a line across the dough. Mark 4 lines equidistant from each other on the dough, then turn the flatbread 90 degrees and repeat, making a grid pattern on the dough. Place on one of the prepared pans and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
8. After all the flatbreads have been formed, pick one up by the edge and let it stretch a little downward, moving along the outside edge of each. Return to the pan after the stretching and repeat with the remaining flatbreads. Spray with water and place in the oven. Wait 2 minutes, then spray again.
9. Lower the temperature to 425˚F and bake the flatbreads until golden, a total of about 15 minutes. Halfway through, move the bottom pan to the top rack and vice versa, turning the pans back to front.
10.  Cool the flatbreads on a rack and serve them soon after baking. At Hazar they always reheat the breads in a hot oven for a couple of minutes before serving.