Garlic Grilling Bread with Eggplant Caponata
This chewy-soft flatbread is spiked with garlic. Cook it on your barbecue grill for a striking appearance and wonderful flavor. Caponata, a flavorful Italian vegetable melange, is the perfect complement.
Read our blog about this caponata and dipping bread, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.
Grilling Bread
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic, fresh or dried
- 2 tablespoons garlic oil or olive oil
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water
- 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
- 1 cup semolina
- 1 tablespoon King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver OR Baker's Special Dry Milk OR nonfat dry milk
- 1 tablespoon Pizza Dough Flavor (optional, but tasty)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
Eggplant Caponata
- 1 medium-sized eggplant, stem removed, skin left on, cut into 3/4" cubes, about 7 cups cubes
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces, about 2 3/4 cups diced onion
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into 3/4" cubes, about 2 1/2 cups cubed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons drained capers
- 1/2 cup oil-cured Italian black olives, pitted
- 2 medium-sized, firm plum tomatoes, sliced
Directions
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1) To make the bread: Mix and knead all of the ingredients to make a soft, supple dough. |
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2) Place the dough in a lightly greased container, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise until it's very puffy, 45 minutes to 1 hour. |
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3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into four pieces. |
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4) Grease four 10" squares (or 9" x 12" rectangles) of parchment paper or waxed paper. |
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5) Use your greased fingers to press each piece of dough onto the parchment, pressing it into a circle or oval. The dough should be no more than 1/4" thick. |
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6) Brush or spray the crusts with olive oil, and let them rest for about 30 to 60 minutes, while you preheat your grill to about 400°F. |
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7) Place the crusts with their parchment directly onto the grill, with the parchment on top. Peel off the parchment. If your grill has a cover, close it. |
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8) Cook the breads for about 4 minutes. Turn one over; it should feel fairly set, and have golden-brown sear marks. If not, continue cooking till the breads feel set and are golden on one side. |
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9) Cook the breads on the other side for about 4 minutes, until they're cooked all the way through, and both sides are browned. |
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10) Remove from the grill, and serve warm or at room temperature, cut in wedges. |
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11) To make the caponata: In a large strainer or colander, toss the eggplant with a generous sprinkling of salt. Weigh it down, and set it in the sink to drain for 30 minutes. |
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12) Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (11" to 12" pan, if possible). Add the eggplant and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it's beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. |
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13) Stir in the onion, garlic, and tomatoes. Cover the pan, and cook gently, over medium heat, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. |
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14) Remove the cover from the pan and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the caponata is quite thick. |
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15) Add the sugar, salt to taste, and the black pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, and transfer the caponata to a bowl to cool. |
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16) When the caponata is lukewarm, stir in the capers, olives, and sliced plum tomatoes. |
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17) Serve the caponata at room temperature, with wedges of bread. |
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Yield: 4 flatbreads and about 4 cups caponata, about 8 servings. |
Recipe summary
- Hands-on time:
- 15 mins. to 25 mins.
- Baking time:
- 8 mins. to 32 mins.
- Total time:
- 2 hrs 8 mins. to 2 hrs 57 mins.
- Yield:
- four 9" flatbreads; 4 cups caponata
- Recipe comments (1) »
Tips from our bakers
- If you're using dried minced garlic, soak it overnight in the 2 tablespoons oil called for in the recipe. While this isn't completely necessary—don't stress if you didn't do it—the garlic flavors the oil nicely, and the oil softens the garlic a bit.
Reviews
07/16/2009
It sounds good, but what are the alternatives if you don't have a grill? Pan fry? Bake? Broil?
We didn't try this in the test kitchen, but the blog notes 425' oven for 15 - 20 minutes. You can bake on a cookie sheet or hot baking stone. The grill gives those distinctive marks - cooked either way, the bread will be a delicious platform for the caponata. Irene at KAF
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