Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour or
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour and ½ cup unbleached white flour
- pinch of salt
- 2½ tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)
- ¾ – 1 cup warm water
Directions
- 1Place flour and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Pour 1½ tablespoons of oil over the flour and toss to coat.
- 2Gradually stir in enough water, mixing as you add the liquid, to form a dough that is very soft. Knead briefly so that the dough is very smooth and even in texture. Use the remaining oil on the hands to prevent sticking as you form the dough into a ball.
- 3Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and set aside for at least 10 minutes. The dough may be prepared up to 24 hours in advance to this point if covered airtight and refrigerated.
- 4Pinch the dough into large walnut sized balls and keep aside, covered. To roll each chapati, place a ball of dough on a lightly floured work surface. Flatten the ball and then using a rolling pin, roll the ball into a thin 5 to 5½ inch disc shape, turning and dusting with flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking. It is best to use unbleached all purpose flour for rolling and dusting.
- 5Cook each chapati immediately, or set aside covered and separated with a very light dusting of flour, while rolling the remaining balls.
- 6To cook the chapatis, heat an iron skillet over medium high heat until a bead of water dropped on the pan dances across the surface. Place one chapati on the skillet and cook until the edges begin to change in consistency and tiny bubbles begin to appear on the surface, about 1 ½ -2 minutes. Turn the chapati over and continue to cook until brown dots appear on the surface being cooked, about another 45 seconds to a minute. Immediately place the chapatti over an open flame and turn a couple of times so it will puff thoroughly. Turn the cooked chapatti out onto a serving dish and finish cooking the remaining rounds of dough, or serve chapattis immediately as you continue cooking more.
