Kenyan Chapati

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1. 1Step 1: Use water that is about bath water temperature, warm enough to dissolve the sugar and salt but not too hot to touch comfortably.
2. 2Step 2: Add the warm water to a large heatproof bowl and stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved.
3. 3Step 3: Pour 1/4 cup vegetable oil into the water and stir.
4. 4Step 4: Add the flour and stir right away with your hand to mix the flour with the water. It's important to not have the flour sitting in the water for too long before you stir to incorporate it, to avoid clumping.
5. 5Step 5: Once a dough forms, knead the dough in the bowl for 3-5 minutes until it is smooth, pliable, and no longer sticky. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour a little at a time, about an extra 1/2 tablespoon.
6. 6Step 6: Place the ball of dough on a clean countertop and use the bowl to cover the dough and keep it warm to rest for 10 minutes.
7. 7Step 7: Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll the dough out to a large rectangle about 18 x 15 inches (about the size of a large rectangular pizza).
8. 8Step 8: Drizzle the 1 tsp of oil all over the dough and spread it with the back of a spoon or clean fingers.
9. 9Step 9: Use a pizza cutter or knife to slice the dough lengthwise into 10-12 even strips about 1.5 inches wide.
10. 10Step 10: Roll each strip up like you are rolling a cinnamon bun. Take the end of the strip and poke it through the centre of the spiralled dough to secure it. Flip the spiralled dough over, place it on the countertop, and press lightly on the top of the dough with your palm to flatten it slightly. Continue with the rest of the strips of dough and allow them to rest for another 5 minutes before moving on to roll out the chapati.
11. 11Step 11: When you are ready to roll and cook the chapati, heat a large frying pan over medium low heat. The pan should be hot enough that you can feel the heat if you hold your hand safely above the pan but not so hot that the chapati will burn right away. If the pan is not hot enough and it takes longer than a minute or so for the chapati to cook on each side, the chapati will dry out and not be soft and pliable. If the pan is too hot, you will notice spots blackening as it cooks instead of golden brown spots.
12. 12Step 12: While the pan is heating up, lightly flour your work surface again. Place one ball of spiralled dough in the centre of your work surface, pat it flat with your palm, and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a flat and circular chapati at least 8 inches in diameter. Keep extra flour nearby and lightly dust the work surface under the chapati as needed so the chapati doesn't stick. Whenever the chapati starts sticking, stop rolling, flip the chapati over so the other side can pick up some of the flour on the work surface and start rolling again.
13. 13Step 13: To cook the chapati, lay the flat and circular chapati on the heated frying pan. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes until you can see that it has puffed up in spots and the dough has begun to cook. Flip the chapati over and the first side should be lightly browned in spots. Carefully spin the chapati with your hand or a spatula to distribute the heat and cook the second side for another minute or so until it too is lightly browned in spots. Spread a little bit of oil (about 1/2 tsp) over the chapati and flip it back onto that first side. Spread a bit of oil over the second side and flip the chapati again. After another few seconds when the chapati is nicely spotted with browning and cooked through, remove it from the heat.
14. 14Step 14: Continue rolling and cooking all of the chapati. Try to get into a rhythm where you can roll out a chapati in the first 1-2 minutes that another is cooking on the pan, so you have a constant assembly line of chapati cooking and being rolled flat.
15. 15Step 15: Chapati are best enjoyed warm but these will stay soft for quite awhile, so you can wrap the warm chapati in a clean kitchen towel to keep them as warm and soft as possible until you are ready to serve them. To reheat cold chapati, lay them on a heated frying pan for a few seconds until they are warm to the touch and pliable again. Store any leftovers in the fridge if needed.
16. 16Step 16: Serve your chapati with my Kenyan githeri recipe or any curry/stew you love.