Indian Hard Tack (Baati)

Baati is a hard, unleavened bread cooked in desert areas of Rajasthan, Malwa, and Gujarat in North India. It is prized there for its exceptionally long life and high energy content, as well as the minimal quantity of water required in its preparation.
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 g) wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons oil
- Water
- 1 ½ teaspoons ghee (for serving)
Steps
- Mix flour and salt.
- Put about 1 cup flour mixture in small bowl. Mix in a little oil, breaking up lumps.
- Add water about 1 tablespoon at a time, kneading by hand. Use 3–4 tablespoons total. Knead very hard until dough sticks together in a ball. Compact dough gives denser baati.
- Rest balls 5 minutes.
- Flatten each ball by hand, then with rolling pin, into smooth discs 4 inches (10 cm) across and ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick.
- Cook in dry metal pan over low flame. Flip once when bottom begins to harden.
- Pinch all over with two fingers to thin the dough and give bumpy texture on one side.
- Cook until bottom browns in spots. Remove. Place upside-down on grate or pan with holes to blacken top slightly.
- Serve drizzled liberally with ghee, with dhal or vegetable.
Notes from the original
- Sprinkle powdered sugar on after the ghee for a sweet snack.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Indian Hard Tack (Baati)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-07-13, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Baati.jpg by No machine-readable author provided. Deeptrivia assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.






