Bulgur Onion Bread
Submitted by tracieann
Bulgur onion bread is an unleavened Middle Eastern flatbread of soaked bulgur, minced onion, and flour rolled paper-thin and baked on hot stones. No yeast, no rise. Five ingredients, naturally chewy with a faint onion fragrance.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
50 minCOOK
10 minREADY
60 minThis unleavened flatbread skips yeast entirely. The structure comes from soaked bulgur, which absorbs the boiling water and turns into something that kneads like proper bread dough. No rise time, no proofing, just a 30-minute soak and you’re rolling.
The bulgur soak is the foundational step. Pouring boiling water over the cracked wheat and salt lets the grain hydrate fully so it bonds with the flour during kneading. Skip the wait and the dough crumbles when you try to roll it.
Quarry tiles or a baking stone are essential. The radiant heat from the stone is what gives these breads their slightly puffed, lightly charred bottoms. A baking sheet works in a pinch but you’ll lose the signature crisp-edge texture.
Minced onion folded into the dough perfumes each thin round. As the bread bakes against 450°F (230°C) stone, the onion caramelizes in spots, leaving sweet brown freckles across the surface.
Serve warm, stacked under a kitchen towel. Bulgur breads firm up fast as they cool, so don’t dawdle.
Pro Tips
- Use fine or medium bulgur, not coarse. Coarse grain won’t soften enough to bond into a smooth dough.
- Roll thin, around 1/16 inch. Thick rounds bake into pita-like puffs instead of crisp flatbreads.
- Dust the peel or back of a baking sheet with flour to slide breads onto the hot tiles cleanly.
- Bake one or two at a time so the stone keeps its full heat between breads.
Variations
- Stir in a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds or nigella seeds for nutty flavor.
- Add a pinch of ground cumin or sumac to the dough for Middle Eastern character.
- Brush the breads with olive oil and sprinkle with za’atar right out of the oven for a herbed finish.
Ingredients
Directions
You will need a medium-sized bowl, a food processor (optional), unglazed quarry tiles to fit on the bottom rack of your oven, and a rolling pin.
Place the bulgur and salt in a food processor, pour the boiling water over, and stir or process briefly to mix.
Let stand for thirty minutes. When you come back to the bulgur mixture, it will look like the bulgur has totally absorbed the water.
However, proceed by adding 1 cup flour and the minced onion, and process for 1 minute.
The dough should come together into a large ball as you process.
If it doesn’t, feel the dough: If it feels dry and floury, start the processor, add 2 tablespoons warm water and process for 30 seconds; again if the bulgur and flour still don’t come together, add another 2 tablespoons water and process.
Once a ball of dough forms, process for 2 to 3 minutes longer, then turn out onto a well-floured surface.
(If your processor is too small to handle the whole dough, work with half at a time, adding ½ cup flour to each portion, then combine when you turn out of the processor and knead by hand).
Knead by hand for 4 to 5 minutes.
Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor, combine bulgur, salt and boiling water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand for 30 minutes.
Add onions and ½ cup flour and stir in.
Add another ½ cup flour and use your hands to fold flour into the dough.
With a little persistence, you will soon have a dough (although somewhat sticky) that you can knead.
Turn out onto a well- floured kneading surface and knead for 6 or 7 minutes.
Dough will be sticky at first, but will soon come together into a smooth workable dough; you may be surprised to discover how kneadable bulgur is.
When finished kneading, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand until you are ready to proceed further, for 15 minutes to an hour, whatever is convenient.
To bake, have your oven preheated to 450 degrees with baking stone or quarry tiles in place on a rack in the bottom third of the oven.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces, and flatten each on a well- floured bread board.
With a rolling pin, roll out one or two breads until very thin, about 8 to 10 inches in diameter.
Work with only one or two at a time, as many as will fit in your oven.
When ready, handle the bread gently as you place it on the hot tiles.
(You can also try dusting a peel or the back of a baking sheet with flour and using peel or sheet to transfer breads to hot tiles).
Bake on one side for 1½ to 2 minutes then turn over to the other side for 1 to 1½ minutes.
The bread should begin to brown around the outside.
When baked, keep breads warm by stacking them one on top of the other and wrapping them in a clean kitchen towel.
Serve warm.
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