Nearly every culture in the world has a version of flatbread, which likely entered the human diet at around 6,000 B.C. The Babylonians baked flatbread beginning around 4,000 B.C. Flatbreads have long been integral to numerous racial groups including Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines.
When the Spanish arrived in the New World, they christened the flatbreads they found tortillas. Made since the pre-Columbian times, the original tortillas were created with corn flour and limewater. Wheat flour made its way into tortillas only after the Spanish brought the grain from Europe.
Chapatis from India, lahvosh from the Mediterranean, and yufka from Turkey are other types of flatbread. “Non-wheat flatbreads were [historically] found in tropical climates where wheat was not a main crop,” says Peter Reinhart, chef in assignment at the Charlotte, North Carolina campus of the Johnson & Wales University—one of America’s leading bread experts and author of seven books about bread. “Flatbreads in China were more rice-based. Corn and treated manioc/cassava starch—from the root—was in Central and South America and teff and bean flours were in Africa.”
Flatbreads may have a leavening agent such as yeast, baking soda, or baking powder and they are made from every grain on the planet, in addition to other ingredients. In wheat-based cultures, flatbread is very often leavened. In faith communities, however, this is not always the case. For members of the Jewish faith, unleavened, crisp matzo has been a pivotal food during Passover, while the Christian communion’s “host” is most often unleavened flatbread that signifies Christ’s body.
Flatbreads up to an inch thick may serve as “holders” for savory or sweet fillings and, in some cases, such as the flatbread called injera take the place of table utensils. During the 23 years that Elisabeth and Wayne Carlson of The Teff Company have distributed the teff grain grown by American farmers, Elisabeth has noted significant interest in the grain and in injera. A daily dietary staple in Ethiopia, injera typically employs teff flour, which develops a slightly sour taste after several days of fermentation. However, because teff can sometimes be scarce and therefore pricey, poorer Ethiopians may mix in flours, made from less expensive wheat, barley, corn with teff flour or entirely eliminate the teff.
“More and more people in big cities are taking increased interest in injera and Ethiopian restaurants seem to be popping up all over the place,” Elisabeth says. “More and more people are adopting children from Ethiopia and some Ethiopian food.”
Often paired with lentil soup or vegetable curry, Indian chapatis are used in much the same way as are injera. Yet some people think this flatbread, made from the basic ingredients of wheat, water, and salt, bears a striking resemblance to flour tortillas.
The pita bread was considered quite exotic in the United States 30 years ago, but now it is almost mainstream. Crisp flatbreads such as lahvosh are found in many upscale restaurants and used to make pizza crusts everywhere. Tortillas, however, have gradually become the most popular and versatile flatbread in the United States, as well as staples throughout Central and South America.
“The discovery of corn allowed ancient Mexicans to settle,” says Zarela Martinez, owner of Zarela’s Restaurant in New York City, author of three cookbooks and culinary advisor for the Latino Nutrition Coalition of Oldways—a not-for-profit dealing with food issues. “They removed the outer skin and combined the corn with beans to form a perfect protein. And even in pre-Hispanic times, there were flavored tortillas.”
But Martinez says corn tortillas made in this country often do not have the same quality as those made in Mexico, because our corn is different and we often use masa/corn flour instead. Today, flour tortillas and their corn cousins have also moved to the breakfast table. Their crispy strips are added to scrambled eggs. They are used as wrappers for chilaquiles—a combination of fried corn tortillas, salsa or mole, eggs and sometimes chicken, with cheese and sour cream.
Flatbreads have enjoyed a long and varied history throughout the world and as discussed here, it is not limited to a specific ethnic or cultural group. Whether you’re enjoying Swedish flatbrod, served with butter, cheese, or meat, millet-based ngome from Mali, or Chinese pancakes with mu shu pork, you’ll get a small taste of culture in every bite.|
To learn more about flatbreads, check out the following books:
Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, Harper Collins, 1995/paperback in August 2008
American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart, Ten Speed Press, 2003
Zarela’s Veracruz by Zarela Martinez, Houghton Mifflin Co., 2001