chapati making failure

domesticgoddess789

I tried making some chapatis last night for the second time but yet again they failed to puff up and were not soft at all They turned quite hard and crispy to be honest. I have a huge bag of flour and really want to have mastered it by the end of the bag!

I followed a recipe and used wholewheat flour and water. Does anyone have any chapati making wisdom to impart?

Penelope_Penguin

pinkhayley789 wrote: »

I tried making some chapatis last night for the second time but yet again they failed to puff up and were not soft at all They turned quite hard and crispy to be honest. I have a huge bag of flour and really want to have mastered it by the end of the bag!

I followed a recipe and used wholewheat flour and water. Does anyone have any chapati making wisdom to impart?

Chapatis are flat breads and don;t puff up Can you post a link to the recipe that you've been using, please?

domesticgoddess789

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Chapatis are flat breads and don;t puff up Can you post a link to the recipe that you've been using, please?

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/630421

Here is the recipe I used- Any help much appreciated.

Kevie192

I always use Natco chapati flour and use the recipe on the bag. You can find the recipe here. They don't puff up as such but they will start to form air bubbles as the water evaporates off.

I always use butter instead of ghee and fry in a pan with the tiniest amount of oil - you need the pan really hot and butter just burns!

HTH

Kevin x

gravitytolls

I think the 'puff up' is refering to the reaction of the chapati to the heat in the pan, rather than a rising action.

midnightraven3

they do puff up when cooking and collapse again

are you kneading them enough, if not your dough can be "heavy"

are you making them thin enough? again can result in heavynes(i dont think its that as you said they are hard, this would make them doughy & bready like if that makes sense)

when i make them i do as your recipe suggests but i also place them straight onto the gas flame & turn quickly once done
this makes them puff right up
i them place them onto a clean teatowel, cover with another and keep on cooking

perhaps they are just standing too long going cool/cold while you keep cooking the others?

rachbc

I use half wholemeal and half white - which is what I believe chappati flour basically is - hot dry pan and wrap in a tea towel once they are cooked to keep them soft and warm

prettypennies

We had one of the Asian children's mum came into school to show us how to make them. She used just wholemeal flour and water. The dough was kneaded well and split into balls laid on some more flour. The pan is heated to fierce temperature. The balls are rolled out one at a time and placed into the dry pan. The steam builds up in the chappati and puffs it up. A teatowel is pressed on the chappatis to push out the steam (careful, not to scald yourself) when cooked on both sided, the chappati is transfered to a teatowel and covered up. Repeat with next ball an keep stacking them up.

Rolling all the finished chappattis up in some foil to allow them to 'steam' for a bit helps them to soften.

or

If they are still carboardy, sprinkle with a bit of water and give them a quick blast in the microwave.

kafkathecat

We (ds and me) make them sometimes and they only rarely puff up properly although with practice we are getting better. I only put them in the dry pan for a short while to toughen slightly, then put on the gas ring itself and turn it down slightly to puff it up, then I wrap in a tea towel until they are all done. We find the unpuffed ones still good to eat! Hth. K.

lauren_1

I just use flour, water, bit of salt and dash of oil.

I like mine crispy to dip in the sauce so you can fry them like poppadoms.

Or i grill mine

bakerp

midnightraven3 wrote: »

they do puff up when cooking and collapse again

are you kneading them enough, if not your dough can be "heavy"

are you making them thin enough? again can result in heavynes(i dont think its that as you said they are hard, this would make them doughy & bready like if that makes sense)

when i make them i do as your recipe suggests but i also place them straight onto the gas flame & turn quickly once done
this makes them puff right up
i them place them onto a clean teatowel, cover with another and keep on cooking

perhaps they are just standing too long going cool/cold while you keep cooking the others?

This is what i do too and they never fail