What can I make with flour and water?
Flour and Water is the kind of ingredient that quietly rescues dinner. Recipes using flour and water are below, along with storage and substitution notes.
12 recipes with flour and water
Pizza Dough
Chewy, blistered Neapolitan-style pizza base.
Italian15m3
Tempura
Ethereally light battered and fried shrimp and vegetables.
Japanese30m4
Churros
Crisp fried dough sticks rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Spanish30m6
Focaccia
Dimpled olive-oil enriched flatbread with sea salt and rosemary.
Italian45m8Classic Soft Pretzels
Soft, buttery, and perfectly salted pretzels, just like the ones from the ballpark.
German50m8Pastel de Nata
A classic Portuguese custard tart, consisting of a flaky crust and a creamy egg custard, caramelized in the oven.
Portuguese70m12Margherita Pizza
Naples-style pizza with tomato, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil.
Italian90m2Classic Italian Ciabatta Bread
Ciabatta is a classic Italian bread known for its airy holes and soft texture, perfect for sandwiches or served on its own.
Italian120m8French Baguette
A classic, crispy French bread with a soft interior and a rich flavor.
French150m2Sourdough Bread
A tangy, chewy bread made with a natural starter culture
American300m1
Chinese Orange Chicken
Make the orange sauce: Whisk together sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
Chinese4
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Pie Crust: In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined.
British4
How to cook with flour and water
- 1Start with aromatics - onion, garlic, or ginger softened in fat - then add the flour and water.
- 2Season early and taste as you go rather than salting only at the end.
- 3Give it enough heat and enough space; a crowded pan steams instead of browning.
- 4Finish with acid and fresh herbs, the two things that make a simple dish taste deliberate.
What goes well with flour and water
Flour and Water is at its best with onion, garlic, lemon, chili, herbs and stock. Any two or three of those, plus flour and water, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing flour and water
Dry flour and water keeps for months in a sealed container away from light and heat. Once cooked, cool it quickly, refrigerate within two hours, and use within 3-4 days; cooked grains and legumes freeze extremely well in single-portion bags.
Substituting flour and water
If you are out of flour and water, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Flour and Water recipes: common questions
- What can I make with flour and water and not much else?
- Plenty. With flour and water plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest flour and water recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute flour and water?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover flour and water?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover flour and water without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.