How do you make "roti's" ?

Question

I currently ate lunch at a Sikh Temple . . . and really enjoyed everything that was offered . . . Mmm Mmm Good ! !

Answer 1

http://www.indiacurry.com/bread/br003bre...

How to make Roti Chapati Phulka?

Roti, Chapati or Phulka are same except for size. Roti and Chapati are about 6" diameter, thickness of a Nickel (5¢ coin). Phulka is a smaller and lighter, about 5" diameter, thickness of a Dime (10¢ coin). There is no yeast used in these breads. Here, I will discuss wheat bread only.

For breads with yeast see What are Pizza and Naan dough components?

For Gluten free breads such as Bajra, Rice, Ragi see  How to make Gluten free breads (Roti)

To a novice there are four basic concerns:

1. How much water should I add to make dough?

2. How do I roll out dough?

3. How to cook the bread on the griddle?

4. How to make softer Chapati (tenderize dough)?

The restaurants add ingredients as a percentage of flour weight. I have included these ingredients for 1 pound of flour.



The Dough

The dough is made by mixing flour, salt and water per recipe.

Salt

Salt adds flavor, and strengthens the gluten (tightens the dough). Salt should be sifted with the dry Atta. I like to add a minimum of ¼ teaspoon of salt for every two cups of flour. For unleavened breads, the amount of salt just depends on the taste of the user.

Restaurant ( 1 pound of flour): 2% salt or 1½ teaspoon of table salt.

Water

The amount of water to make dough varies on the type of grain, age of grain, and the milling process used to make flour.

Restaurant (1 pound of flour): 60% or 9.6 ounce or 1 cup and 2½ Tablespoons.

At home, it is difficult to weigh the flour every time we need it. In Indian kitchen, there are two types of flours used to make Roti. Normal gluten and normal weight, and heavy flours. I have assumed the flours are tapped to fill the cup.

Heavy flours (Corn, Millet): 10 to 11 Tablespoons per cup of flour

Normal weight (Wheat flours): 6 to 7 Tablespoon per cup of flour.

The rule of thumb follows:

1. For wheat flours (Atta, Maida), add 6 Tablespoons of water per cup of flour. If the dough is too sticky, add extra flour. If the dough is too stiff, add more water (one teaspoon at a time) to get the right consistency. The dough before resting should be slightly sticky.

2. For heavy flours (Corn, Bajra, Jowar, etc.), add 10 Tablespoons of water per cup of flour. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. If the dough is too stiff, add more water (one teaspoon at a time) to get the right consistency. Lack of gluten will not give you a good feel for its stickiness.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of extra water per cup of flour, if you plan to use Electric Roti Maker .



Rolling Dough (Wheat Roti)

Use flour to dust and help roll out dough.

We need to roll dough out to form a 6" diameter disc about the thickness of a Nickel (5¢ coin). Rolling dough depends on the type of flour (gluten level). How you roll the dough will also determine whether the bread will puff up evenly or not. Pinch dough to make one bread and form it into a ball. Now flatten it to form a patty about 2" to 3" round. This will guide you in maintaining the round shape when using the rolling pin. Always apply rolling pin from the middle of the dough patty to outwards. It takes practice to roll out a round disc. If you are a novice, use a lid of coffee can and a sharp knife to form the round disc.

Always use rolling pin on one side of the dough. Do NOT turn the dough over and roll again, it is called re-rolling. Avoid re-rolling. If you look at the cross-section of a finished puffed flat bread, you will notice one side is thicker than the other side. The thinner side corresponds to the side which was in contact with the rolling pin. We will call it the skin surface.

Baking

Heat the griddle (Tawa) to about 375º F surface temperature. If you don't have a thermometer to measure the surface temperature, put a test bread about the thickness of a dime (10¢ coin) on the Tawa. If the bread sticks to griddle, you need to increase heat. If the bread gets brown spots too quick, it is too hot. It should take about 30 seconds to develop scattered brown spots on the underside of the test bread.

It takes about 1 to 1½ minutes to cook each side of the bread depending on the thickness of the bread. The bread is cooked in three steps.

1. Put the rolled dough on the griddle with skin surface down. It will take about 30 second to 1 minute. Use a turner to lift a corner to see that the underside has a few brown spots.

2. Turn it over and let it cook. The time to cook will depend on the thickness of the bread from 1 minute 90 seconds, you will notice steam bubbles trapped in the dough. Again use a turner to lift a corner to see that the underside has a brown spots.

3. Turn it over. Press the bread with a clean dry rag as the steam bubble will get larger and larger merging with each other to encircle the whole area. The time will depend on the thickness of the bread 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Tenderizing dough to make softer breads

1. The starch in the flour absorb

Answer 2

I LOVE roti it is amazing! There are many variations, but here are my favorites:

Basic Rotis or Chappatis

35 min | 30 min prep

6 seven inch rotis

    * 1 cup whole wheat flour

    * 1/2 cup water

   1. In a large bowl, add the flour, making a small depression in the centre.

   2. Pour 1/4 cup water into the flour and start mixing with the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

   3. Add remaining water as required, until the flour comes together to form a dough.

   4. If the mixture is too dry and falls apart, add some more water; if it is too sticky and sticks to your fingers, dust it with some more flour.

   5. Now knead the dough well for about 5 to 10 minutes; the more you knead it, the softer your rotis will be.

   6. Cover and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

   7. Heat a heavy skillet on a low flame.

   8. Meanwhile, divide the dough into 6 lemon-sized balls and roll into 7-inch circles on a generously floured board using a rolling pin, adding sprinklings of flour to keep the roti from sticking to the rolling pin.

   9. Once the skillet is sufficiently hot, place one roti on it and increase the flame to medium-high.

  10. After about 20 seconds, turn the roti and cook on the other side.

  11. When small-medium bubbles start to appear on the surface of the roti (about 1 minute), remove it from the skillet, remove the skillet from the flame and turn the roti over directly on the flame.

  12. It should puff up completely; you might need some practice with it.

  13. Once it puffs up, remove it from the flame and serve hot with any vegetable side!

  14. Oh, and repeat the cooking procedure for all 6 balls.