Unleavened dough

Unleavened dough is one of the varieties of dough known to mankind almost from the same time when flour appeared. ^[1]. His simplest recipe included ingredients such as water and flour. And at the present time, various popular bakery products are made from such a blank, for example, Jewish matzo ^[2]. Unleavened dough differs from confectionery in its composition: it also uses salt, eggs, sugar, butter, but in small quantities. In total, they make up about 2-5% of the mass of the finished product, the rest is a liquid base and flour. In addition, yeast is most often used in confectionery dough to obtain the effect of splendor and airiness. Unleavened option does not include the use of yeast ^[3].

This culinary preparation is very popular due to its ease of preparation. ^[4]. There are no special and expensive ingredients in it, and the cooking process does not require additional skills such as the ability to knead the dough or put the dough on proofing.

The most famous and even cult dish from the classic unleavened dough is Jewish matzah. ^[5]. In Jewish faith and culture, thin cakes made from water and flour are considered “poor bread”, that is, a substitute for ordinary bread. The fact is that traditionally during the Passover holiday, Jews are forbidden to eat pastries, cakes and yeast bread. The rabbis point out that the whole process of making proper matzah should not last longer than 18 minutes, otherwise the mixture begins to ferment ^[6].

Among the Azerbaijani people, a similar place of honor among pastries is occupied by lavash or, as they call it, “plain bread”. This product is used in many recipes of folk cuisine and has a special, unique taste. ^[7]. The cake has a thickness of no more than 5 millimeters and is made from wheat flour and water with the addition of old dough (sourdough) and a small amount of salt. In total, there are about 30 types of traditional Azerbaijani lavash, which are cooked in a special oven on hot stones or dried under the influence of sunlight.

You can cook puff, shortbread, rich or simple version of unleavened dough, so this semi-finished product is used for pies, pizza, cookies, bread, flat cakes, dumplings and dumplings, pies, pita bread and other flour products.

Types of unleavened dough, their features

The simplest option is the classic one. The one that has come down to the present from the most ancient culinary specialists. For it, only water, salt and flour are used, sometimes adding vegetable oil. Dumplings, dumplings, lean cakes, pita bread, matzo, pizza crusts are prepared from it.

Another type of semi-finished flour product is rich. In this case, the recipe may include milk, kefir, eggs, sour cream, soda. ^[8]. These ingredients are designed to improve the taste of the finished product and make it more refined. This is the so-called sweetness. Dumplings are not molded from pastry; pastries are much tastier from it: cheesecakes, pies, baked and fried pies with fish, meat or fruits. For flavor, you can add cinnamon, cloves, sesame seeds, zest, vanillin to it.

Shortbread or crumbly unleavened dough is also prepared with the addition of baking, sometimes with baking powder. It is used to bake open quiches, biscuits and cake bases.

For various puff pies and strudels, puff pastry is prepared – a product that requires some skills in the cooking process, but the result pays for the effort. Soft pastries with air layers are slightly crispy and very tender.

For chebureks, unleavened choux pastry is prepared with the addition of hot water instead of cold. It is elastic and durable.

Caloric content of the product, its vitamin and mineral composition

100 g of unleavened dough contains 225,83 kcal ^{[9] [10]}. The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in grams is 9,04 / 3,02 / 40,68 per 100 g of the product. Below is a table of vitamin and mineral composition of the product ^[11].

Data may vary slightly. It depends on what ingredients are used in the recipe.

Features of preparation

If the dough is to be used for baking cakes or pies, it should be fluffy and airy, soft and slightly springy. In this case, baking powder is added to the recipe – ready-made store mixes or homemade products that are at hand. Most often it is ordinary soda. It is enough to add it in a small amount, otherwise the finished product will acquire an unpleasant smell and taste, it will become a greenish tint.

Homemade baking powder is prepared by combining 12 teaspoons of flour, 5 teaspoons of soda and 3 teaspoons of citric acid. This mixture is added to the flour before kneading the dough.

If you use soda slaked with vinegar, this mixture should be immediately added to the dough while it foams.

For recipes based on fermented milk products, soda or baking powder is initially mixed with them.

Some housewives advise adding, in addition to slaked soda, vodka (it is mixed with salt, sugar and eggs). The combination of soda and alcohol gives a crumbly airy dough.

Alcoholic beverages are sometimes added to baked goods for flavor and color. Cognac, whiskey, liqueurs also have leavening properties.

The finished dough is always elastic and dense. It should stretch well, not tear when rolling and not stick to your hands.

Recipes for various types of unleavened dough

The simplest, classic version does not contain any special ingredients:

• 500 g flour;
• a pinch of salt;
• water (see amount as needed).

The flour is sifted twice so that no lumps remain in it. Salt is added to it, a hill is formed from the mixture, and a recess is made in the middle. Warm boiled water is slowly and gradually poured into it. In parallel, the mixture begins to knead, adding water until the product becomes thick and steep. Next, it is kneaded until a state of uniformity and elasticity. It usually takes less than 4-5 minutes. The product is wrapped in cellophane or cling film and placed in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. This dough can be used for dumplings or a closed pie with filling.

Unleavened dough on kefir:

• 500 g of kefir (fat content 3,2 or 5%);
• 2 eggs;
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
• salt to taste;
• half a teaspoon of soda;
• flour – how much dough will take.

All ingredients, except flour, are quickly and intensively mixed in a bowl. Next, add flour and knead the dough with your hands until elastic. There should be no lumps in the product, so the flour can first be sifted through a sieve. The result is about 1 kilogram of workpiece. It can be used for pies or chebureks. The product can be stored in the refrigerator wrapped in cling film for up to three days. There is a similar recipe for sour cream. Instead of vegetable oil, it is suggested to use butter.

A more complex kneading and especially rolling technique for unleavened puff pastry. However, as a result, it turns out so airy and crispy that it is worth trying to cook it. This requires:

• 500 g flour;
• 500 g butter;
• 1-2 cups of cold water (how much dough will take);
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar;
• salt on the tip of the knife;
• 1 egg or 50 g white wine.

Basic cooking rules:

1. Only the highest grade flour is used. Before the cooking process, it is better to sift it, in addition, the flour should not be damp.
2. Rinse the butter under cold water and remove moisture with paper towels, then mash it with your hands.
3. It is better to knead the product in the cold on a perfectly flat surface, and this must be done quickly.
4. Oil is taken in a ratio of 1/1 to the weight of the mixed water and flour.

The flour is sifted on a clean and even surface of the table in a slide, a recess is made in the middle. The rest of the ingredients are mixed in it, and until the dough begins to harden, it is kneaded very quickly until smooth. Several cuts 5 mm deep are made on the surface of the dough and set aside for 10-15 minutes. It is necessary to prepare the oil: it is washed and kneaded so that it has the same consistency as the dough.

The most difficult part is the correct rolling of the workpiece. Initially, a cake about 5 mm thick is rolled out of it in the shape of a rectangle. A layer of oil is laid out on top of the rectangle. Next, the dough with butter is folded four times with opposite edges to each other. The resulting triangle is gently rolled out to a thickness of 1 cm. Next, the dough is folded four times again so that the opposite edges meet. The workpiece to be processed is covered with a damp cloth and put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

After that, 2-3 more such rolls are needed, followed by cooling, while the latter occurs 10 minutes before baking.

Care must be taken to ensure that neither the rolling pin nor the surface of the table sticks to the dough, otherwise the layers of the rolled out dough may tear.

After the unleavened puff pastry product is in the oven, it must not be opened for the first 10-12 minutes, otherwise the pastry will settle.

To save time on kneading the product, a simple or rich version of the dough can be prepared in a bread machine. For this, all the usual ingredients are used. Any bread maker with a dough setting will work.

The benefits and harms of the product, use in cooking

Unleavened dough has a slightly lower calorie content than yeast dough. At the same time, it is rich in carbohydrates and gives a feeling of satiety for a long time. The use of flour products in limited quantities is beneficial for the body, as it gives a supply of energy necessary for its functioning. The protein contained in the product is important for muscle tissue.

The complex of useful substances in the composition of unleavened dough helps to increase immunity, stimulate mental activity, and improve blood clotting. Due to the vitamin composition, the use of the product has a positive effect on the condition of the skin, nails, hair and vision. Fiber, which is rich in some types of dough, has a beneficial effect on bowel function ^[12].

With all the known beneficial properties, the dough is a high-calorie product that helps to increase body fat. Excessive consumption of flour products, combined with a sedentary lifestyle and lack of sports, can lead to obesity and wrinkling at the waist.

If there is an individual intolerance to the components of the test, it must be excluded from the diet.

Cooks use unleavened dough as the basis for dishes of varying complexity – from lean flatbreads to pies and strudel. Fragrant cheesecakes, buns with filling, pies for baking in a pan and in the oven, shortbreads, rolls, pita bread, dumplings and dumplings, pasties, pizza, lasagna, cookies, bagels, tarts and pies, as well as decorations for culinary products are prepared from it. and cakes.

The dough is prepared with a margin. It is stored in cling film in the freezer. It will not lose its taste and culinary properties within 2-3 weeks.

Unleavened dough is a product that is prepared according to a variety of technologies and recipes. In terms of its culinary properties and advantages, it is not inferior to confectionery yeast dough, but at the same time it is more useful and less high-calorie. It can be prepared from various types of flour, so that the finished product will have special properties and taste. Custard, puff, sweet and shortbread unleavened dough does not limit the possibilities of culinary specialists at all. It is used to prepare a variety of complex dishes such as dumplings, pizza, dumplings and pastries. Of course, it will be very difficult to achieve such a rise as with yeast dough, however, special baking powder can give airiness and friability to unleavened dough products, the main thing is not to add too much flour. From tightly kneaded dough, made according to the classic recipe, you can sculpt decorations for Easter cakes and pies, so it keeps its shape perfectly and does not “spread” when baking. Vegetarians and fasting people will find their favorite recipe for the classic animal-free unleavened dough and treat themselves to pies, vegetarian pizza or delicious cookies.

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