Easy Za’atar Halloumi Flatbreads

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Jasmine

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Today I’m sharing my halloumi flatbread recipe. After much trial and error and testing and tweaking, I finally feel like I’ve found an easy, yeast-free method that works for me every time! There’s a bit of a technique to it, but this is about as easy as making dough gets…

INGREDIENTS

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Dough:

Self-raising flour

Cumin seeds

Black pepper

Olive oil

Greek honey

Full-fat Greek yoghurt

Cold water

Toppings:

Halloumi

Za’atar spice mix

Butter, ghee or oil

TIPS

As there’s a little bit of a technique to the dough, I’ve included some images of how it should look at each stage. If you’re following along and things are looking as below: you’re on the right track!

Don’t be tempted to reduce the ‘rest’ time is my big message. It won’t rise as such, but you need a good hour to develop the gluten and get that light, fluffy texture you want with a flatbread.

I don’t recommend adding salt to the flatbread dough because the halloumi is salty already, but if you make this without halloumi, feel free to add some.

My other important tip is not to leave burnt bits of spice in the pan as you fry the flatbreads because it will stick to your fresh ones and just burn more! I recommend using a non-stick pan (unless you have a lot of trust in your skillet’s seasoning) so that the halloumi isn’t pulled out of your flatbreads.

Finally, I recommend storing these in the fridge because of the halloumi – they will keep for a few days (if you’re making these flatbreads without the halloumi, they can also be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature). To reheat, simply sprinkle them with water and put them into an oven preheated to 180C for 7 minutes (I put them on a pizza tray).

Za'atar Halloumi Flatbreads

  • Servings: 2-3 as a starter or side
  • Difficulty: Medium
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A tasty snack or side that looks like more effort than it was



No special equipment needed, 1 hour required for the dough to rest


Ingredients

  • 570g of self-raising flour (+ a little plain flour for dusting)
  • 1 tsp of Cumin seeds
  • Black pepper for seasoning
  • 1 tsp of Greek honey
  • 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (+ extra for the resting bowl)
  • 8 tbsp of full-fat Greek yoghurt
  • 200 ml of cold water
  • 1 tbsp of Za’atar spice mix
  • 100g of Cypriot halloumi (slice it finely then cut it into smaller squares or rectangles)
  • 2 tbsp of melted butter, ghee or oil

Directions

  1. Mix together the self-raising flour, cumin seeds and black pepper in a large bowl
  2. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the olive oil, honey and yoghurt
  3. By hand, integrate the wet ingredients with the dry to create a flaky texture
  4. Gradually add the water (you might not need it all if you used a runnier yoghurt) mixing in after each batch until you have a sticky dough – if there are still dry bits at the bottom of the bowl, simply wet your hands and press them into the dough
  5. Pour the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and knead for a few minutes by hand until you have a smooth ball
  6. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, add a little more oil over the top and cover it with a tea towel for an hour
  7. Once the dough has rested, pour it onto a floured surface – using a dough cutter or a long, flat knife: cut it into 8 pieces (don’t worry about them being the exact same size – a bit of variation is nice!)
  8. Roll each piece into a ball and lightly flour it
  9. Using a rolling pin, roll each side of the ball you’re working on so it’s flat but not too thin
  10. Heat a frying pan over a medium flame and place the flatbread onto its surface
  11. Quickly press some pieces of halloumi into the upside of the flatbread to embed them (I use around 3 pieces for smaller flatbreads and 4 for larger ones)
  12. Sprinkle over a little za’atar
  13. The underside will need c.3 minutes to cook and you will notice your flatbread rise a little – once this is done, use a spatula to cleanly flip the flatbread and cook for 3 minutes on the upside
  14. Once the flatbread has some nice golden patches on both sides, brush over some melted butter, ghee or oil and repeat the process for all of your dough balls

I like to serve these flatbreads alongside tasty dips like my go-to halloumi and my roasted red pepper harissa dip. Let me know if you try this one!

Check out the video recipe here:

One response to “Easy Za’atar Halloumi Flatbreads”

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