Mauritian Farata: Soft, Flaky, Layered Flatbread Recipe
🌱 This flatbread from Mauritius is so tender, flaky, and soft, with layers that melt in your mouth. And it's naturally vegan. My family is thrilled when I make it, and they moan in gustatory delight with each warm and pillowy bite. And my friends have found it equally captivating, loving it when I bring it to gatherings. This recipe takes just a little more effort than a simple flatbread. There are a few folds and rollouts to get this amazingly light and fluffy texture. But it's easy to do, and it's so worth it.
Ingredients
Making the dough
- 350 g (2¾ cups) all-purpose flour, plus about 2 tablespoons extra for dusting
- 1¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder, optional, but it makes the bread fluffier
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sunflower, vegetable, canola, or olive oil
- 1 cup (250 ml) hot water, at 185°F / 85°C
Folding and cooking
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) sunflower, vegetable, canola, or olive oil, for brushing while folding and cooking
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) all purpose flour, for dusting between folds
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine and add the oil. Stir again to mix.
- Gradually add the hot water (185°F / 85°C) while stirring to form a shaggy dough.
- When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead it for 3-4 minutes by hand. Please see notes below for details.
- Lightly oil the surface of the dough, cover with plastic wrap or a lid, and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Divide, roll, and fold the dough
- Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces at about 75-80 g each. Keep the remaining dough covered as you work. Roll out each piece very thinly (9-10 inches / 23-25 cm).
- Brush with a very thin sheen of oil and sprinkle with a pinch of flour. Fold one side into the middle. Then fold the other side over it into thirds, like a letter, into a long strip.
- Lightly brush the strip with oil and sprinkle with another pinch of flour. Fold one end of the strip over the middle, then fold the other end over the first, again into thirds. You'll now have a square of dough.
- Repeat until you have 8 layered squares.
Second roll and fold (optional for extra flakiness)
- Repeat the rolling, oiling, and folding one more time for extra-flaky dough. (This is optional, but it gives the bread double the flaky and tender layers.) Start with your first square and cover the rest as you work.
Finall roll
- Gently roll out each piece (to preserve the layers) one more time to 7-8 inches (18-20 cm). Cover or store between rounds of parchment paper as you go. Or you can roll them out one at a time before cooking.
Cook the farata
- Heat the skillet to medium. Place the first side on the pan without adding oil. After 30-40 seconds, look for bubbles to start forming. Check for golden spots on the bottom before flipping.
- Flip the farata onto the second side. Now brush the top with a thin layer of oil. Wait 20-40 seconds. The timing will be easy after the first few breads!
- Now flip again and oil this side. Wait another 20-40 seconds. Look for beautiful puffing up of the breads as you do your flips! (But it's ok if this doesn't happen.)
- Flip one last time to let the oil cook on the surface. After 20-40 more seconds, remove the farata with a spatula and stack in a towel or flatbread warmer as you cook the rest.
- Enjoy your beautiful farata flatbreads! They're especially delicious while still warm.
Notes
Please make sure to add the water at the indicated temperature of 185°F / 85°C. (This is so easy to measure with a digital cooking thermometer that you can also use any time you make yeasted breads.) Temperatures below or above this can make the dough too tough or too soft.
Kneading by hand works better than a stand mixer here, where it's easy to overmix. The dough may be irritatingly sticky, but please don't add more flour when kneading. You don't want the dough to be too dense after you sprinkle flour between the layers later. It's worth it; you can do it!
There’s no need to let the dough rest between these steps, as this will happen while you're working on the other pieces.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!