Trying to make cornmeal flatbread that will wrap/fold like pita
Hi everyone, this is my first post on Fresh Loaf,
I'm trying to make a flatbread that tastes like mild cornbread (somewhere between an earthy, "maizey" white masa tortilla and the sweet yellow cornbread I grew up eating) that has the physical properties of pita bread, in that it is fluffy and breadlike, yet easly folds so that you can wrap it around fillings.
So far, I'm getting the taste and fluffy breadiness I want from the recipe below, but the flatbreads break and crumble when I try to fold them, even though the crust is relatively soft and they will flex a bit.
I'm a complete baking noob, so I'm probably missing some basic steps. Here's the recipe, loosely based on this 40 minute bun recipe [1], the only bread besides pizza crust I've successfully done so far (besides a gazillion cornbreads and tortillas).
- 1 package Fleischmann’s RapidRise Yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour (Gold Medal Better-for-Bread unbleached)
- 2 cups white cornmeal (masa de harina)
- Mix all ingredients.
- Let KiktchenAid work on it for ten minutes, on low with dough hook.
- Pour very sticky mess onto counter, attempt to separate into ten equal portions. (Austin is very humid, btw.)
- Make a huge mess with dry flour forming the portions into balls.
- As delicately as possible, flatten and shape them by hand into circular flatbreads.
- Put them on a lightly greased cookie sheet, cover with warm, moist linen towel, set sheet on stove for 10-15 minutes while the oven heats to 425F.
- Cook until lightly browned, about another 10-15 minutes.
That's it. Like I said, they taste pretty good, but they aren't nearly as flexible as pita bread, probably because of the cornmeal. Again, I'd be very thankful for any ideas.
Cheers :)