4 cups chapati or roti flour (it is super finely ground durham semolina wheat)
some water
3 Tbsp olive oil
Put flour in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil. Add water a little bit at a time, mixing, squeezing, then kneading with hands until all dry flour disappears and you have a smooth dough and a clean bowl, about 5 minutes by hand. Add another 1 1/2 Tbsp oil, knead to incorporate, and let rest for an hour.
Break off a piece (about the diameter of a quarter). Squeeze the piece in between the palms of your hand. Do this four or five times, turning your hands so they get a slightly different angle on the dough in your palms. When you have what looks like a smooth flat river stone, then use a rolling pin and roll it out on a counter into a a circle, about 1/8th inch thick. (Indians use a special round board (ahdni) and rolling stick (vhelan) to roll out the roti. You can do without it, but it's nice to have the tool. They can be found at Indian markets.)
Cook both sides of the roti in a hot dry pan until the color turns light brown. Then use tongs to hold it directly over a high gas flame. Roti will likely puff up like a pufferfish. Flip so other side gets a little spots of toasted tan color. Repeat process to make many roti out of all the dough.
Copyright Lindsay Sterling 2014
