Frena Bread
Frena bread is the richer, fluffier cousin of pita. With a history of baking over a bed of hot coals in the fire, and try this easy at-home version in a nonstick pan - once you go frena it's hard to go back.
Ingredients
1K all-purpose flour (8 cups)
720g water (3 cups)
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80g olive oil (6 Tbsp)
20g yeast, dry (4 tsp)
25g sugar (2 Tbsp)
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25g salt (1 Tbsp + 1tsp)
Directions
- Add the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
- Mix the ingredients on medium speed to achieve a shaggy ball of dough (about 3 minutes).
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, pull the dough out to make a ball and place it back in the bowl.
- Cover the dough to rest 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
To fold the dough, imagine the puffed mound of dough as a clock. Pull from the edge at 12 o’clock down to 6, then the edge at 3 o’clock to 9, and the edge at 6 to 12, then 9 to 3. Now do this again 2 more times folding the outside edge of the dough across through the clock for a total of 3 rotations (or 12 folds)
- Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes again.
- Divide the dough into 6 portions and shape them into neat ball. Place them onto an oiled tray, turning to coat each ball generously with oil.
- Cover the tray with the dough again to rest for 30 minutes or until doubled.
- Preheat the oven to broil and set the oven rack to the middle of the oven.
- When ready heat an 8” nonstick, oven-safe pan over medium heat.
Give each dough ball one last roll in the oil tray to coat well and gently stretch the dough to fit the pan and place into the pan, coaxing the dough wider and flatter as needed.
- Let the bread cook in the pan until golden brown underneath.
Move the pan to the oven under the broiler to finish cooking and brown the top of the bread. The bread will cook in just a few minutes.
- Once the bread is golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes, transfer the cooked bread to a resting rack and continue cooking the rest of the dough balls.
- Enjoy warm with plenty of dips, spreads, and salads!
Recipe Note
Recipe Notes
The bread keeps very well once cooked, in both the refrigerator and freezer. Give it a quick toast to refresh the bread and enjoy your own freshly baked frena bread!
Questions? Contact helen@laboiteny.com
