Local name: Chapati
A wheat flatbread rolled into a spiral then flattened, which pulls apart into thin layers once cooked.
Photo: Lebu Ayiga, CC BY-SA 4.0
The spiral roll is what makes the layers. Kenyans learned it from the Indian railway workers who built the Mombasa to Kisumu line in the late nineteenth century.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
Almost always a dough that was too dry or under-kneaded. It should stay soft and slightly tacky, and the full ten minutes of kneading is what builds the gluten that makes it stretchy. The thirty-minute rest relaxes it, and stacking the cooked breads in a cloth traps the steam that keeps them soft.
Rolling the oiled rope into a coil creates spirals of dough separated by a film of oil. Pressing hard welds them back together, and the bread then cooks as one dense round instead of pulling apart into thin layers.
The oiled dough keeps overnight in the fridge and is actually easier to roll; let it come back to room temperature first. Cooked chapatis reheat in a dry pan for a few seconds a side, which restores their suppleness.
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