Staititai, a rustic sourdough flatbread made from whole spelt flour, fried in olive oil and topped with feta cheese, sesame seeds and honey. Many ancient breads were baked on a bed of sweet bay which releases woodsy and floral perfume into the dough, and I've incorporated that technique in the recipe below. Try serving this flatbread with a simple autumn salad flavored by pomegranate and pears.
Stir the starter, warm water, olive oil together with flour and sea salt. together in a bowl until well-combined. Pour the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook and mix the ingredients together at a low speed; alternatively, flour your counter and knead the ingredients together until a smooth, pliable ball of dough forms.
Grease a mixing bowl with a bit of olive oil; place the dough in the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a slightly damp kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for about four hours. Punch it down, and allow it to rise again, until doubled in bulk.
Divide the dough into two masses, and form discs approximately eight inches in diameter.
Heat two tablespoons olive oil of the remaining olive oil over a medium-high flame in a cast iron skillet. Place one disc in the hot oil and fry for two to three minutes, flip it and fry the other side for two to three minutes. Add an additional two tablespoons olive oil to the skillet, and repeat the process with the remaining disc. Your staititai dough is now ready for its toppings.
topping and finishing the staititai
Heat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brush one tablespoon unrefined extra virgin olive oil on each of the two fried bases for the staititai.
Crumble eight ounces of feta cheese evenly over each of the discs, drizzle each disc with one tablespoon honey and sprinkle with them with one tablespoon sesame seeds and enough coarse sea salt to suit your palate.
Line a baking sheet or baking stone with three to four sweet bay leaves, and place the staititai over the bay leaves. Bake the staititai in an oven preheated to 475 degrees Fahrenheit for about five to six minutes. Serve hot, drizzled with additional honey as it suits you