With September being fig season in the UK, this is the perfect time of year to get creative with the sweet, jammy and delicious fruit. Baked into cakes and crumbles, and used as an accompaniment to sharp cheeses, figs are great with both sweet and savoury dishes. This recipe is a satisfying savoury flatbread ideal for sharing on late Summer evenings and early Autumn nights.
Ingredients
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 1 packet activated yeast
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 cup warm water
- pinch of good quality salt
- tsp herbs of your choice (optional)
- glug of olive oil for kneading
- 2-3 large figs
- 2 tbsp good quality pesto (or make your own)
- Drizzle of balsamic vinegar
- Fresh basil leaves (optional)
Method
- Add the water, yeast, honey and 1 cup flour to a large mixing bowl
- Mix until bubbles start to form and leave for 20 minutes to work its magic
- When the mixture is bubbly, add the rest of the flour, herbs and salt, and mix to create a soft dough
- Pour a little olive oil onto a clean surface or chopping board, and knead the dough for 3-4 minutes on it (add more spelt flour if the dough is too wet or sticky)
- Leave the dough in a large covered bowl for 30-40 minutes to rise (it doesn’t have to be left for very long as we’re making a flatbread not a loaf, but leaving it to rise a little will create a softer, puffier flatbread)
- When you’re ready to bake, pre heat the oven to 200C with a dish of water in the bottom of the oven (this stops the dough from drying out when cooking)
- Roll the dough out as flat as you want it to be, and place on a baking tray in the oven for 5-10 minutes depending upon how hot your oven is
- Once you’ve park baked the dough, remove from the oven and add your toppings, slicing the figs thin so they’ll caramelise, and spreading the pesto as thick as you like. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top.
- Place back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, again depending upon your own oven’s power.
- Remove from the oven, top with torn fresh basil leaves, slice and serve!
Enjoy
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