This stuffed flatbread recipe is similar to the Indian Aloo Paratha or Kulcha, but it has been inspired from Moldovian cuisine. Their stuffed bread starts with the same type of dough but the filling can be savory or sweet: farmer’s cheese with herbs, potatoes or sour cherries.
This homemade stuffed flatbread recipe makes crisp as well as soft golden brown flatbread stuffed with potato (vegan option), cheese or sweet filling (apples and sour cherries).
This is a yeast free, easy stuffed flatbread – great served as an appetizer with dips, make ahead finger food, or as a side dish along with your favorite dinner or lunch. The perfect party snack / appetizer for large crowds or family dinners.
A Different Stuffed Flatbread Recipe
In my recipe I mixed the Indian recipe with Moldovian, they call them “placinte la tigaie”. As filling Moldovians use different ingredients such as, cooked potatoes, mushrooms, cheese, cabbage as well as sweet fillings like sour cherries, apples or pumpkin.
In Indian cuisine a stuffed flatbread is called Paratha. Or aloo paratha if it is stuffed with potatoes. While Kulcha is basically the same recipe only it uses a leavened dough and a different type of flour.
Homemade Stuffed Flatbread Is The Best
The best thing is that when you make homemade stuffed bread is that you can control the quality of the ingredients.
I know this is not an allergy friendly meal but at least it doesn’t have highly processed ingredients and I tried to keep it as close as possible to a wholesome food category.
This stuffed flatbread recipe is one of my husband’s favorite food, so I indulge him with a few flat breads once in a while.
How To Make Flatbread Dough
The flatbread dough consists of just flour, salt, water and a little oil and takes a few minutes to make. It doesn’t require yeast or baking powder. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and knead with your hands until all the flour in incorporated and you have a soft smooth dough.
Divide it into small balls, cover with a towel or a plastic wrap to avoid drying, and let them rest a bit to ensure the dough is elastic and it doesn’t break. Otherwise you just get tough, doughy discs that you can bang on like drums.
Once the dough is ready, take one ball at a time, covering the rest so they don;t dry out. And roll it out thinly with a rolling pin and proceed with the filling.
Potato Stuffed Flatbread
To make potato stuffed flatbread you need some cooked potatoes (steamed, boiled or some mashed potato leftovers) and some seasonings like salt, pepper, bay leaf and onion. Use your favorite! For more flavor add some roasted mushrooms or some herbs.
Cheese Stuffed Flatbread
The best cheese to use for making a stuffed flatbread in my opinion, is the farmer’s cheese. Not only it’s healthier (because it’s fermented and has probiotics) but it also has a fresh, sweet and sour taste that pairs very well with herbs.
I buy my farmer’s cheese from whole foods, but I think I saw in other food stores as well.
Sour Cherry And Apple Stuffed Flatbread
This combo of flavors: the sweet and sour cherries and tart apples, and the savory flatbread, all served warm with a dust of powdered sugar – is heavenly delicious!
As per video instructions, to prepare this sweet flatbread filling you need to peel and grate some apple and a jar of sour cherries. You can also sprinkle some cinnamon and granulated sugar, but I prefer it simple.
Stuffed Flatbread Recipes: Potato, Cheese Or Sour Cherries
Ingredients
Flatbread Dough
- 4 cups (500g) all purpose flour - organic
- 1.3 cups (300 ml) water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
Potato Filling
- 4 large boiled (or steamed) potatoes - and mashed
- 6 medium white mushrooms - chopped
- 1 onion - chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black cracked pepper
Cheese Flling
- 1 pound farmer’s cheese
- 4-5 scallions - chopped, or green onions
- 1 small bunch of fresh dill - chopped
- 1 egg
- 3/4 tsp salt
Apple And Sour Cherry Filling
- 6 oz sour cherries
- 3 medium sweet and sour apples - grated
- 10 tbsp avocado oil, - for frying
Instructions
Make The Flatbread Dough
- Place the flour, water and salt in a bowl, mix with your hands until everything is incorporated and smooth. You may use a little more or less water than specified in the recipe, it depends on what type of flour you use.
- Once the dough is formed, knead it on the table for 5 minutes.
- Shape the dough into small balls (~3 inch), place on the table and give them a dust of flour to prevent sticking. Cover with cling wrap and set aside for 20 minutes to rest.
- Meanwhile, prepare the fillings.
Potato Filling
- Boil or steam the potatoes like you would do for mashed potatoes. But don't incorporate the water as they need to be somewhat dry. If the mixture is wet it will make the interior mushy and will leak. I learned from my mistake (in the video is too mushy).
- Heat some oil in a skillet and slightly caramelize the finely chopped onion and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and add that to the mashed potatoes.
Cheese Filling
- In a bowl combine the farmer's cheese, with 1 egg, chopped scallions and dill, mix to combine. Season with salt generously, it's ok if it's a little bit salty.
Apple and Sour Cherry Filling
- Grate the apples and drain the sour cherries of liquid. Set aside.
Stuff The Flatbreads
- Take one ball and use a rolling pin to roll it out on a floured surface. You should get a thin disk about 9-10" wide.
- Place about 1/2 cup (more or less) of the filling in the middle of the rolled out dough and gather the edges to enclose the filling (see video).
- Roll it out more if you prefer it less thick. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Place it into the frying pan heated with a little bit of oil (make sure the oil is hot) and cook each side on a low-medium heat for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from fry pan onto a wire rack (to prevent from going soggy).
- Add a small drizzle of oil into the pan and proceed to cook the remaining flatbreads.Cut into 4 pieces and serve! Hot or cold – delicious!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
Megan
Wednesday 22nd of December 2021
Do you think a 1:1 gluten free flour would work in this recipe!?
HealthyTasteOfLife
Thursday 23rd of December 2021
I'm not sure, you can try a small batch and see if the dough is stretchy enough and can hold the filling without breaking.