Goan poi / poee (puffed baked flatbreads)

Here is a bread from Goa (a small state in western India) that most people may not know about. Goa has a unique bread-baking tradition because it was a Portuguese colony for about 500 years.

Poi are small pocket breads. They were traditionally made with whole grains but some recipes today use white flour, although they are still dusted with wheat bran.

I wanted to make a whole grain version, so I adapted this recipe: https://lukecoutinho.com/blog/recipe-corner/goan-poi-the-traditional-way/

I made this about a week back, but I believe these are the quantities I used. Will definitely make again and update:

• 140g white flour starter at 100% hydration (could use whole wheat instead. I just used what I had)
• 260g whole wheat flour
• 106g ragi/finger millet flour (a flour available at Indian stores. Flavorful and gives a beautiful dark color. If you like additions such as buckwheat, you should definitely try it)
• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil (don't need to use this, but it does give the dough a nice aroma)
• 8-9g salt
• Around 280g water (the dough should be soft and a little sticky. Softer than typical flatbread dough)
• Wheat bran for rolling

Procedure:

• Mix dough in stand mixer until smooth and elastic. Around 10 minutes.
• Bulk rise until approximately doubled (exact rise probably doesn't matter that much)
• Divide into 9 or so portions and shape into balls. Allow the gluten to relax for 15 minutes or so and then roll into approximately 5-inch disks, being generous with the wheat bran while rolling. I left the disks on parchment squares for easy transfer to oven.
• Allow to rise until visibly puffy (again, exact rise may not matter that much, but I believe I did 1.5-2 hours)
• Bake for around 7 minutes on a baking stone in oven preheated to 480F. I did 2 batches. You will see the poi puffing up while they bake, creating a nice pocket. 

Notes:

• This method creates sour poi. I like them this way, but you may want to adjust for your taste. 
• Some Goan pairing suggestions: https://www.bigfattummy.com/2019/05/dry-green-pea-patal-bhaji/, https://www.bigfattummy.com/2016/09/white-pea-ros/, https://www.bigfattummy.com/2016/09/potato-patol-bhaji/ (the most Goan thing is to make the potato dish and one of the dried pea dishes, then combine the two in a bowl and dip your poi into it. This is shown below)
• If you actually have these in Goa today, they will probably not be sour (made with yeast) and will be made with a mix of white flour and Indian whole wheat flour (no ragi flour). They may also have a somewhat harder texture.

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