Chili Crisp Cottage Cheese Flatbread カッテージチーズフラットブッレドと食べるラー油

My wife is always looking for new baking projects. She came across a flatbread recipe using cottage cheese. In addition, this recipe included “chili crisp*”. We are usually not interested in “very spicy” food. In our household, we keep “Tabasco” and “Sriracha” and use them sparingly or as part of a marinade. We used to have a Japanese version of chili infused oil or ra-yu ラー油 but since we used it rarely, it oxidized by the next time we wanted to use it. Since my wife asked for “chili crisp” for this recipe, I looked into it. The Chinese version appeared to be too spicy for us and we do not particularly like tongue numbing Sichuan pepper which many Chinese brands may include. So I settled for a Japanese mild version of chili crisp from ‘Momoya 桃屋**”.

*Spicy chili infused oil “辣油” is a traditional condiment in Chinese cuisine. In Japan, it is known as “ra-yu ラー油”.  Chili crisp or chili crunch  is a variation chili oil in which bits of chili, garlic and other solids are included. This became very popular during the  COVID time (2020 on) in the U.S. and many brands (including some U.S. brands) became readily available. In Japan, this was known as “eating ra-yu  or 食べるラー油”.

**Japanese condiment maker “Momoya 桃屋” started selling a Japanese version of chili crips which was dubbed as “Looks spicy but not too spicy ra-yu 辛そうで辛くない 少し辛いラー油” in 2009 which was a big hit in Japan.

So my wife started making the bread but at the last moment her friend called and I was left to do the final preparation; making the dough balls, let them rest. Preheating the cast iron skillet. Pressing and stretching the dough balls in to 7 - 8 inch disks without making holes and cooking them in the cast iron skillet. The picture #1 is the result. I included the Japanese chili crisp in the picture (on the side).

This is how we enjoyed it (picture #2). Just dip the bread in the chili crisp. (We subsequently found that spreading the chili crisp directly on the bread works very well too.) The bread and chili crisps were wonderful. The fried garlic adds a nice crunch and the oil is flavorful but not hot; just a bit of buzz which suits us just fine. The bread on its own also has nice flavors.

Ingredients
3/4 cup (170g) cottage cheese, whole milk preferred
1/2 cup (114g) water, warm
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
1 cup (14g) cilantro, leaves and tender stems*
2 1/4 cups (270g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 tablespoon (22g) chili crisp, plus more for brushing
vegetable oil, for brushing or greasing

*Or substitute with dill, parsley, or a mix

Directions:
To make the dough: In a food processor, process the cottage cheese, water, yeast, sugar, and salt until smooth, 20 to 30 seconds. Add the cilantro, flour, and 1 tablespoon (22g) chili crisp, in that order, and process in about 8 to 10 second-long pulses, until the dough comes together and starts to gather around the blade.

Scrape the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until increased in volume by about 1 1/2 times, 30 to 45 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead it gently, sprinkling with additional flour as necessary, until it's smooth, springy, and less sticky, 30 to 60 seconds. (The dough was extremely, wet and sticky and required the addition of a fair amount of flour to make it workable.) 

Divide the dough into 4 pieces (about 150g each) and shape each into a tight ball. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until puffy and relaxed, 15 to 30 minutes.

Toward the end of the rise time, preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working with one dough ball at a time, stretch or roll into a 7" to 8" round. Brush the top with vegetable oil, then place, oil-side down, in the skillet. Cook until brown underneath and bubbled on top, 1 to 2 minutes. Brush the other side with oil then flip the dough and cook until brown on the second side, 1 to 2 minutes.

While one flatbread is cooking, shape the next.
For an extra spicy finish, brush the warm flatbreads with chili crisp before serving.