An easy, soft flatbread recipe that’s made without yeast. You’ll love how soft and pliable it is, making it perfect to use as wraps for Souvlaki or Gyros, or as naan to dunk into Tikka Masala or Butter Chicken. The possibilities are endless!
A simple multipurpose 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.
It’s made without 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.
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 / 300g 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 butter (1.75 oz)
- 3/4 cup / 185 ml milk
- 1/2 tbsp oil (for cooking)
Instructions
- Combine butter and milk and heat until butter is just melted - on stove or in microwave.
- Combine 2 cups flour, salt, butter and milk.
- 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.
- Wrap with cling wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or so.
- Dust bench top with flour, cut dough into 4 pieces, roll into balls, then roll out into about 1/8" / 0.3cm thick rounds.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a non stick pan over medium heat - or lower if you have a heavy based skillet. (Note 1)
- Place one flatbread in the pan, cook for around 1- 1 1/2 minutes - it should bubble up (see photo in post)- then flip and cook the other side, pressing down if it puffs up. There should be a smallish golden brown spots on both sides.
- 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.
- 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
LIFE OF DOZER
Summer, autumn, spring and winter. Rain, hail or shine.
Hi Nagi, I love your amazing recipes. I’m wondering if I can use Spelt plain flour instead of wheat flour,for the flat bread recipe.
Hi Margaret, I haven’t tried but don’t see why not!
Hi Nagi
What’s the difference between flatbread and tortillas I am planning on making this recipe today. Give Dozer a hug from me
Bonnie from Markleeville, CA.
Hi Bonnie, tortillas are usually thinner – you can make this recipe and just roll out thin and use as a tortilla ☺️
Can I substitute margarine for butter?
Hi Colleen, yes I’ve heard margarine works as well ☺️
Can you use half & half instead of milk
Hi Theresa, I’m sure this would work fine ☺️
Oh,my,God! This is so easy to make. I adjusted the recipe slightly by using a low fat margarine – it was slightly less pliable – but still GREAT! And, best of all, the kids love them. I now make extra and keep the dough balls separately wrapped in Clingfilm in the fridge. I leave them out for 15mins before cooking.
Thank you 🙂
Wahoo! Great to know about the margarine. Thanks so much for letting me know what you think Barry ☺️
We made this gluten free using the 1 to 1 flour. I had to add a bit more milk and used very little flour for rolling them out. They were delicious!
Great Lori!
I made this recipe to accompany the Butter Chicken I made for my partner on Valentine’s Day. I had never made flat breads before so was not sure how they would turn out. I needn’t have worried because these were so easy to make and tasted delicious. Soft and tasty. They were the perfect accompaniment for the butter chicken and got a thumbs up from my partner. Thanks Nagi another excellent recipe.
Awesome David, perfect for dunking into that delicious sauce!
Lovely easy recipe, I made mine vegan and they are delicious, have enough for packed lunch all week – thank you
Long time Loiterer, first time commenter. Made these and loved them! We put in a bit more salt. Our children really like them, haven’t bought wraps since!
Wahoo I’m so glad you’re converted! ❤️
I did my online shopping and drove into town to pick them up. I ordered greek wraps which weren’t available. Unfortunately I didn’t realise this until I got home. There are no shops where I live and I googled flatbread recipe and up came your recipe. Thank you! They were easy and fun to make. I can now make the quesadillas I planned for Friday night.