Soft Wrap Bread

As I was aimlessly browsing through my King Arthur Flour cookbook I came across this recipe and was instantly intrigued. The script before the recipe said this bread is more like a Taco Bell gordita or a pita bread than a normal tortilla. It also suggested that if you like the bread in your sandwich to be a substantial part of the sandwich this is the bread for you. That description definitely sold me on making this bread. I love the thick gordita bread and also have become quite fond of the flatbread sandwiches at Subway.

This bread was pretty easy to make and only took a couple of hours from start to finish. The nice thing about this wrap bread is that it is so versatile. Although the recipe says to make 7 to 8 inch circles you can easily shape this bread however you want and make it whatever size suits you. Once cooked the bread can be used to make a variety of items such as, personal pizzas, sandwiches, tacos, or even appetizers. I will definitely be making this bread again, it was delicious.

Soft Wrap Bread
Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook. Also available on kingarthurflour.com

~makes 8 breads ~

Ingredients
3 to 3 1/4 cups (12 3/4 to 13 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) boiling water
1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) potato flour OR 1/2 cup (5/8 ounces) potato buds or flakes
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon instant yeast*

Making the Dough
Place 2 cups of the flour into a bowl or the bucket of a bread machine. Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl or bucket and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes or buds) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes (by hand, mixer or bread machine) to form a soft dough. Note: You can allow the dough to go through the entire kneading cycle(s) in the bread machine, but it's not necessary; about a 5-minute knead in the machine, once it gets up to full kneading speed, is fine. The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat sticky. Add additional flour only if necessary; if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour.

Shaping
Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each about the size of a handball, around 3 ounces), cover, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into a 7- to 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) over medium heat for about 1 minute per side, until they're puffed and flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack, stacking them to keep them soft. Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag.

*This recipe works best with instant yeast because it dissolves during the kneading process, so you don't have to knead liquid into the dough. If you really prefer to use active dry yeast, use only 1 cup boiling water for the initial dough, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, and add this mixture to the dough along with the potato flour mixture. It'll be somewhat "slippery" at first, but will knead in and eventually become smooth.

Nutrition information per serving (1 bread, 85g): 207 cal, 4g fat, 5g protein, 37g complex carbohydrates, 2g dietary fiber, 336mg sodium, 150mg potassium, 1mg vitamin C, 3mg iron, 3mg calcium, 56mg phosphorus.