Herb Feta Dip and Flaky Bread

This is a great party starter with seasonal veggies or even a quick afternoon snack. Also great with eggs in the morning or wrapped around your favorite sandwich ingredients.

We hike every week-end, always in the mornings. Then we set about our weekly tasks. Not always a lot of fun but necessary. Most afternoons we try and relax or go out somewhere. This Saturday we decided to take it easy and since I had all day I started the dough for this bread. After the dough is made it needs to rest in a warm spot for at least 4 hours.

Looking at these little breads you might think they are a cross between a tortilla or a flat bread. But then you take a bite and are pleasantly surprised by their buttery flakiness. Next you try the dip which is thick and salty with a pretty intense flavor. Life is starting to look pretty good right about now.

This recipe has been slightly adapted from Bon Appetit March 2014 magazine  Flaky bread and Herbed feta dip.

Ingredients:

Flaky bread:

1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour plus a little more for surface
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted), plus 10 tablespoons more for brushing dough
3/4 cups water
Olive oil for parchment paper
Flaky sea salt

To prepare:

Whisk flour and salt together, drizzle in butter, mix well. Slowly mix-in water. Kneed on a lightly floured surface about 5 minutes until dough is shiny and very soft. Wrap in plastic and let sit 4 hours.

Divide dough in 10 pieces. Then using your palms roll into balls and place on baking sheet to rest; cover 15 minutes. Next we start coiling which is the method used here to set up the buttery flaky layers of this bread. First you roll out each one on an unfloured work surface into a very thin oval or round. This provides the traction needed to get the dough thin. Brush each one with 1/2 teaspoon butter and sprinkle with flaky salt. Roll into a long thin rope and wind into a tight coil.

When ready to use, roll out into a thin round on an unfloured surface one at a time and stack with sheets of parchment paper brushed with olive oil to separate layers. Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat and brush both sides of dough rounds with room-temperature butter and cook 2 minutes on each side.

Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Ingredients:

Herbed feta dip:

6 ounces feta cheese
1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped dill
1/4 cup water
Olive oil to drizzle
Salt and pepper to taste (did not add salt)

To prepare:

Blend feta, parsley, mint, dill and water in food processor. Taste; add salt and pepper if needed. Pour into serving dish. Add a light drizzle of olive oil and a sprig of dill.