An easy, soft flatbread recipe that’s made without yeast, an excellent quick option when you don’t have hours for yeast dough to rise. You’ll love how soft and pliable this flat bread is, making it perfect to use as wraps for Gyros, Shawarma and Doner kebabs. Or as naan to dunk into Tikka Masala or Butter Chicken. The possibilities are endless!
Flatbread recipe
I love fresh homemade bread. And though I bake bread with yeast more frequently nowadays, I still find it easier and a general preference to make bread without yeast.
Maximum taste, most tasty outcome with minimum effort – but without compromising on the end result. That’s my ultimate goal and the ethos that underpins every recipe I share here on RecipeTin Eats.
Over the years, I have tried a lot of flatbread recipes. Flatbreads from many different cuisines, from blogs and cooking sites, by home cooks, from reality cooking shows (yes, Master Chef and My Kitchen Rules!), serious chefs and celebrity chefs.
But I always found they were too doughy (e.g. the ones that only use yoghurt as the wet ingredient) or too crisp to use as a wrap unless they were moistened with lashings of butter. Absolutely delicious, mind you. But not what I was after. So this recipe is my idea of a perfect flatbread recipe.
How to make Flatbread – with NO yeast
This flatbread recipe is made with no yeast. It is very easy to make, requiring just a minute or two of kneading.
And it honestly is beautifully soft and pliable. So soft you can use it as a wrap and it won’t crack.
And of course, it is perfect to be used as pita bread, for things like Greek Gyros and Greek Chicken Souvlaki.
And here I have used it as “naan” as a side for Butter Chicken. When I make it to be like “naan”, I cook it on a slightly higher heat to get larger and more brown bits on it – just like real naan! The crust gets slightly crispier so it’s not as suited to use as a wrap, like in the above photo. (PS If you’ve got the time to make proper naan, try my Naan recipe. It’s just like the real deal!)
If you’ve never tried homemade bread before, this flatbread recipe is a great one to start with because it really is that easy. The worst that can happen with this flatbread recipe is that the heat is too high when you cook it so the exterior ends up a bit too crunchy and cracks when you roll it. If that happens, just spray it with olive oil or brush lightly with oil or butter and it will moisten the surface.
Try this once, and store-bought flatbreads will never be the same again. That I can promise! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Easy Soft Flatbread (No Yeast)
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour (all purpose flour) (level cups, unsifted, not packed), + keep 1/4 cup extra for dusting & adjusting dough
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 tbsp / 50g unsalted butter (1.75 oz)
- 3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Melt butter in milk: Combine butter and milk and heat until butter is just melted – on stove or in microwave.
- Combine Dry: Combine 2 cups flour, salt, butter and milk in a bowl.
- Knead 2 minutes: Sprinkle work surface with flour then knead for a few minutes until it is smooth – it doesn't need much kneading. Add extra flour if the dough is too sticky.
- Rest 30 minutes: Wrap with cling wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or so.
- Roll into rounds: Dust bench top with flour, cut dough into 6 pieces, roll into balls, then roll out into 20cm / 8" rounds, 2 – 3 mm thick.
- Heat oil: Heat a non stick pan over high heat (no oil). (Note 1)
- Cook: Place one flatbread in the pan, cook for around 1- 1 1/2 minutes – it should puff up dramatically. Once the underside has nice golden patches on it, flip and cook the other side for 45 seconds to 1 minute until the underside has golden spots and it puffs up again.
- Keep wrapped in tea towel: Stack the cooked bread and keep wrapped with a tea towel – the moisture helps soften the surface, making them even more pliable. Continue to cook with remaining pieces.
- Brush with butter or oil (optional): Brush or spray bread with olive oil or melted butter, for a more luxurious finish. Or even with melted butter mixed with minced garlic for a garlic butter version!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Summer, autumn, spring and winter. Rain, hail or shine.
yummy, easy to make, very easy to wrap! We used one for funny Tortilla slap game too lol
Do you butter Or oil them if your freezing them??
Do you cool the milk mixture?
It’s best to use warm as warm as your hands can handle , its easier to knead!
So simple ,but the best !!!!
I absolutely loved this recipe!
Used OO flour, and they were amazing!
Thank you!
Awesome recipe! So easy to make and so quick. You really can’t mess it up. I slathered butter on each one as they came out and it was divine! Highly recommend.
Going to try these today! How long do they generally keep fresh Nagi? TIA Jacqui
Reminds me of the plain ‘sada’ roti my mom made when I was growing up in Trinidad & Tobago, which I make now to go with anything. Waaaaaay back then it was just flour, water, salt & baking powder. Now I make it with buttermilk & homemade butter! Fabulous & easy.
Every single time i used Nagi’s recipes they are a hit! Today I made gyros with flat bread! Soooo good! and i also baked chocolate chip muffins (another hit with my family!!!!) Thank you!
These are too easy and so yummy!
I made these to go with the lentil curry recipe (our favorite). The flatbread were soooooo good we gobbled them all up last night. I even made more this evening (and yes we ate them all again).
We made these with your chicken gyros tonight and omg! We cannot believe we made our own bread and was 100% better than shop bought. We love cooking with you Nagi, thank you for another winner!
Absolutely amazing and so easy to make! The definition of chef’s kiss! Thanks for sharing your recipe, will be making these often!
Excellent. So easy plus you can add any flavourings you want.
Soo delicious what the heck!! I put cheese in mine and rolled them out 🙂 brushed them with garlic + chili oil and my goodness it’s perfection. 100% remaking forever 🥖🍞🫓
These were SO EASY to make! I was pleasantly surprised! I added some za’atar seasoning to the dough. We ate them with chicken shawarma, roasted chickpeas and onions, yogurt sauce and cucumbers.
So easy to make and in no time as well!
These are a winner…
Though a bit confused about if you oil the pan or you don’t?!
I think you oil the pan if you want a deeper colour! I didnt oil my pan and they were perfect ^_^
Made this to go with your Middle Eastern Lamb Pilaf – both amazing!
This was exactly as described, easy and will never buy pre made again
I was trying to re-create a flatbread sandwich from our amazing local Italian Pasta & Pizzeria restaurant. This recipe was perfect and oh so easy for the flatbread similar to the restaurant’s. I rolled them out too thinly to mimic the restaurant. Next time I will divide the dough into quarters instead of 6 pieces and not roll as thinly. My husband & I used 1 flatbread each for our sandwiches. The remaining flatbreads were perfect for mini pizzas for our 15 y.o. son. Everybody was happy for dinner! Thanks for such a simple yet delicious recipe. When I have more time, I will try your naan recipe.
Does the recipe make 4 or 6 flatbreads?
Recipe says 6 but video shows dough cut in 4.
Amazingly simple & wonderful taste & texture! I made to complete my Lebanese Chicken Shawarma supper. Thank you for sharing!