Grilled Bread with Mediterranean Chopped Salad

By Lynne

Ingredients

• Silk Road Non (Adapted from Home Baking by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 cups warm water
• 7-9 cups all-purpose flour, or 2 cups whole wheat flour, plus 4-6 cups all-purpose. (I used 1 cup semolina and the rest all-purpose, but next time will use more semolina)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Mediterranean Chopped Salad
• 2 medium large tomatoes, cored, seeds removed and diced small
• 1 large cucumber, halved, seeds removed and diced small
• 6 ounces kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely diced
• 1/2 small hot green or red pepper, seeded, ribs removed and diced small
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• In a bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, olives, hot pepper, parsley, and oregano. In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil and red wine vinegar. Add just enough of the dressing to the chopped salad
• To serve. Fold the crumbled feta cheese into the chopped salad. Place a grilled bread round on each plate and top with a portion of the salad. Serve immediately. Serves 4-8.

Preparation

Step 1

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the 3 cups water. Add 2 cups flour and 1 cup semolina or the whole wheat flour, if using. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer and on low speed, combine ingredients until a smooth batter is formed. Cover bowl and let sit 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

Stir in the 1 tablespoon salt. Add 3 tablespoons of the melted butter and fold in. Continue to add remaining flour, one cup at a time until dough is too stiff to mix.

Switch to kneading paddle and knead for 8-10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. You may need to add some additional flour if dough is sticky, but just a little at a time.

Place dough in a large clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, at least 2 hours, or in cool place for 8 hours, or overnight.

Arrange rack in upper third of the oven and place a large baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles. If you don't have the stone or tiles, use a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 500° F.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Cut in half and set one half aside, covered with a cloth or plastic wrap. Cut remaining dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball, then flatten with palm. With a rolling pin, roll each piece into 8 inch diameter rounds. It helps to quarter turn each piece to assure roundness. You can roll two pieces at a time, giving one time to relax while you roll the other. After rolling each piece, set aside on a floured surface and cover with a towel. Continue with second piece of dough if you don't plan to grill the remaining half. Let rest 15 minutes before baking.

To prepare the breads for baking, warm remaining tablespoon of butter until liquid. Lightly dust a peel with flour or semolina. Place a dough round on the peel, prick the centers with a fork leaving about 1 inch around the rim of the dough. Brush with small amount of butter.Sprinkle with a small amount of kosher salt and or a small amount of crushed red pepper. Don't overdo either.

Open oven door and slide the first bread onto the stone. Bake 5 1/2-7 minutes until "well-flecked with gold". Using a long-handled spatula, lift bread off of stone and place on rack to cool for 5 minutes or so. Place in a cloth until ready to serve. If you have a large stone, you can cook two at a time. Continue baking remaining breads in the same manner.

To Grill the Breads
Prepare dough in the same manner as above. Omit butter for brushing, but have nearby 3 tablespoons olive oil. Preheat a gas grill on medium or light briquets for a charcoal grill. You can also use a heavy ridged pan and grill these on the stove top. If you are using the stove top, preheat pan for 5 minutes. Make sure your grill racks are perfectly clean before grilling breads.

When ready to grill, brush each round on both sides with a small amount of olive oil and place on grill rack. Watch carefully, you may need to adjust the heat. Place rounds on grill rack and cook until nice and toasted on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip and grill on the other side until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes more. Repeat with each round.
Top with salad