My Chicken Paprikas was eaten with enthusiasm by the kids on Saturday following an energetic morning of school sport. Since I rarely cook anything in small portions, we enjoyed the ample leftovers for Sunday lunch. With the addition of these sensational sandwiches, freshly filled, cut and lined up on a large platter, and a bowl of vitamin rich fruit salad, lunch was a breeze to prepare and a delight to eat. 

I had several bananas in the fruit bowl which either had to be turned into smoothies or bake goods. I chose the latter and within the hour, there were two cinnamon and nutmeg scented Banana Bread loaves golden and warm, waiting to be served up for afternoon tea. Slabs were also sliced, wrapped and stuffed into containers for school lunches the next day. You can find this recipe on the blog I posted on the 5th July. 

On to dinner… 
Flicking through one of my favourite baking bools, How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson, I came across a recipe for soft, speckled Nigellan Flatbread. With my lacerated finger still securely bound with bandages, kneading dough the traditional way was out of the question. Just as well I had a dough hook, and when attached to the KitchenAid mixer, made fast work of turning the basic ingredients into a silky, malleable dough. In less than 5 minutes – not an exaggeration – I had the dough prepared and reading for rising. 

This bread contains plain yoghurt which gives the finished product a soft, aerated and silky texture. I only wish that I had doubled the recipe because they were fantastic! My daughter Eva exclaimed they looked “like something out of a bakery” which is a most flattering comment. I served them up for dinner with rosemary marinated beef fillet steak, quickly barbecued and stacked onto plates. A crisp salad of radicchio and baby cos lettuce with chunky cubes of Greek feta and cherry tomatoes were dressed with a drizzle of Maggie Beer’s sticky vinno cotto. 

Nigellan Flatbread makes 8 individual portions

Ingredients
500 g strong white bread flour plus a little extra for kneading
7 g dried yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little more for greasing the rising bowl
300 ml warm water

For the glaze:
1 egg
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon yoghurt
1 tablespoon nigella seeds (small black seeds available in the spice section of large supermarkets and well stocked grocers). 

Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl that fits under your mixer. 

In a jug, combine the yoghurt, olive oil and water by whisking with a fork.  Add the contents of the jug to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix together using your clean hands of a large spoon. 

Using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, set the machine on a medium setting to kneed for 3 minutes. During this time, add a little more flour until the dough is supple and smooth. I added about an extra handful. You can also kneed the dough by hand, although this takes double the amount of time. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench and roll it into a large ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a little olive oil and place this dough ball into the bowl. Cover with either a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm corner of the kitchen to rise for 1 HOUR or until DOUBLED in size. 

In the background to the right I have thickly cut rounds of fillet steak sprinkled with fresh rosemary and olive oil waiting to be barbecued. To the left, is one of the loaves of banana bread that I just pulled out of the oven. 


Punch the dough down and turn out onto the bench which has been sprinkled with a little more flour. At this stage put on the oven to preheat at 220 degrees on a conventional setting. Divide the dough into 8 even pieces as pictured, by gently tearing it apart with your hands. Roll each piece using your hands into flat, oval shapes (see above). Don’t worry if they are not all exactly the same shape; the irregularity adds to the rustic appeal. 

Using a butter knife, press a cross-cross pattern onto the top of each portion. Brush well with the glaze and then sprinkle with the nigella seeds. Leave to rise a little more for about 15 minutes or until the oven has finished preheating. 

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until a light golden colour. Best eaten warm and before anyone can squirrel away your portion of flatbread.