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
I’ve added oil but it’s not necessary. Please follow your recipe card below.
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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 pan: 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:
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Sandra @ wifeonaboat says
So good!!! And very easy to make. I used oat milk and vegan butter and they turned out great. Thinking about adding some garlic powder or other spices next time.
Sarah says
Making this now. I chose it because it said 15 minutes and I wanted something fast….then after starting the process it reads rest 30 minutes. Maybe you can change the time on it, and include it at the top. I hope they’re worth the wait.
Rachel says
Used oat milk and Earth Balance vegan butter and it turned out great! thanks for the recipe!
Kitt says
Is the butter salted or unsalted? If unsalted, how much adjustment to the salt is needed? Thanks!
Lee Nugent says
I lived next to a Pakistani bakery in Oslo for 15 years. They made several types of flat breads every day.
These are defo on a par with them!
Nagi is the queen on scran.
Kathryn says
Lee, did you live in Grønland? I lived in Oslo for 15 years as well. On urtegate. One block from several amazing Pakistani bakeries!
Lee Nugent says
Schweigardsgt, Gamlebyen.
I live in Asker now and still go back every couple of weeks to buy pakoras by the kilo:)
Sam Goldstein says
Wow! These are so even gluten free. For gluten free try Bob’s Red Mill ‘Cup for Cup’ and change nothing else – they’re possibly a little doughier thanthey would be but I don’t know… I think they look, taste, and wrap great. Thank you.
Brittany says
First time trying to make flatbread. This recipe was great and basically fool proof. I’m excited to try adding some herbs and garlic next time. Thank you! 🙂
Christie says
This recipe is a life saver. I whipped up a batch whilst making butter chicken and it was soooooo delicious. Another winner – thanks Nagi
Carmen Borg says
Thanks for this recipe it is perfect when you have to follow a low histamine diet, and there are are not many available recipes for low histamine diet
Will definitely give this a try
Anne says
Never made flatbread before. The recipe was so easy and the result was delicious. Thank-you.
Peter says
Made this as to the recipe, great with Dahl. Worked wonderful for me.
Many thanks, I am making more today..
I am now looking at your baked Ziti recipe, lol
Shakira Johnson says
Hello, can I make this recipe with spelt flour?
Stuart Young says
I followed the recipe to the letter, but the breads did not puff up, they remained flat and had a greasy texture to them. By far the worst flatbreads I have made.
Nagi says
Sorry you had issues Stuart – there isn’t any reason why they should be greasy unless you mismeasured the ingredients. Try cooking over a higher heat as that will cause them to puff up slightly more 🙂 N x
Bee says
Hi Nagi, I have so enjoyed browsing through your recipes as they all look so delicious! For this recipe, which I would love to try, I have two questions. First, what diameter are these, 8-10 inches? Secondly, can these be frozen and if so how would you reheat them? Thanks for sharing your love of cooking!
Brenda says
Love this flat bread, make it all the time to use as wraps or naan. It makes just the right amount as well. Thanks Nagi 👏
Frances Daltrey says
Hi there,
Loving the flatbread recipe – will it work in the oven also?
Nagi says
Hi Frances, I prefer to cook over direct heat for this flatbread 🙂 N x
Jerri Chessecake says
burnt it a little after brushing with olive oil it stayed pretty soft.I’ll use it for a wrap next time:)
Lisa says
Have tried your flatbread nd it was delicious, all the famjly loved it.. Thnak you for sharing 😊
Barbara says
Why is the sodium content so high? I looked for information on individual ingredients and did not find them to be so high. I have not made this recipe yet as my husband is on a low sodium diet, wanted to check
Nagi says
Hi Barbara, you could always leave out the salt to reduce the sodium level here 🙂 N x
Parth says
Made a lovely, amazing, absolutely amazing wrap. I like to have them thick and small so that it fills you up. I didn’t use butter tho. I used 30gms canola oil, 5 grams butter, and 15 grams extra virgin olive oil. Elevated the flavour so much