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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Taz says
Always love your recipes Nagi, I follow you on Pinterest, Instagram, and foodgawker ( and of course get your email updates).. cause I don’t want to miss anything . And yet….somehow the missed this one!
Being of south Asian descent I grew up eating many different types if flatbreads. Typically for day to day , in our house we ate chapati ( or roti) which is typically made with whole wheat flour. So, could this recipe be made with whole wheat instead ?
Nagi says
PS Thank you for the lovely compliment! 🙂
Nagi says
Oooh Taz, I swear, I believe Asians make the BEST flatbreads!!! Yes this can absolutely be made with whole wheat flour, I know there are hundreds of comments but there are definitely messages from people who have made this with whole wheat 🙂
Janet says
I just tried these for the first time tonight, there were a HUGE hit. The kids did not bother with the chicken I made, or the rice…just the flatbread. Although, I am getting a fair amount of razzing for not being able to roll them out into perfect circles like your picture. The kids even held up in to my monitor to compare. (Yah, I’m a proud mom. Want a kid? Two?)
I have been asked to make a bunch of these for school, so I have to ask if the recipe doubles nicely or if I have to make any adjustments?
Nagi says
BA HA HA! Your kids are hilarious!!!! Tell them to stop being so mean otherwise you won’t make these anymore! You can definitely double it, especially if you have a stand mixer. But if kneading by hand I find it easier to make individual batches 🙂 N xx
Amy says
These are pure heaven, and so easy! I made them for some Greek steak wraps with tzatzki! Fantastic! Soft and delicious! Will never by store bought again! Thanks for a wonderful recipe and thanks for sharing!
Nagi says
Fantastic to hear Amy! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Ai Tang says
My family as young as 4 to the old they all enjoy this with the Butter chicknen. Have made those double ingredient all in 24 hrs ahead. taste soooo……….great and easy. I will made this again ahead with the Chicken Souvlaki As usual I believe they will turn out supper perfect. Thank you so much Nagi. YOU are the best.
Nagi says
Awww Ai Tang! You are SO SWEET! 🙂 Thank you very much for your lovely message!
Lynn says
I make your recipe nearly every Friday nights with chicken or turkey breasts, salad, avocado, pepppers and beans. My husband and my three girls absolutely love it. Let’s say, I need to have a good reason for not making it!!. Thank you so much
Nagi says
Aww, I LOVE hearing that Lynn! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe so much! N xx
Dacey says
So amazing! Had it with your gyro recipe and I can’t even tell you how much we enjoyed it!
Nagi says
Fantastic to hear Dacey!! Thanks very much for letting me know! N x
Maia says
i tried this recipe just now and it was perfect. I could it eat without curry or the fillings.I love it. Thank you so much Nagi for sharing this recipe.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Maia! Very big soft spot for this recipe, I make it often! 🙂
Runa says
So very good Nagi, and really soft. My nieces loved to help make them and eat them!
Great recipe for when there’s lots of leftover curry.
Nagi says
Woo hoo! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed it Runa, thanks for letting me know! N x
Gabrielle says
Are the ingredients combined by hand or can I use a mixer with a dough hook. Also if using coconut oil,what is the oil replacing? The milk? The olive oil?
Nagi says
HI Gabrielle! Dough hook or hand. 🙂 Dough hook only takes about 1 minute on medium. And the coconut oil would replace the olive oil. N x
Ori says
I love this recipe. I have a dairy allergy so I use vegan butter (Earth Balance) and almond milk and it turns out perfect.
Next time, I’ll try olive oil instead of Earth Balance.
Thank you so much!
Nagi says
Thanks for trying my recipe Ori, glad you enjoyed it! N x
Peter says
Hi Nagi
I tried a half portion using gram flour. There were problems with rolling as is remained sticky. I ended up using the palms of my hands with plenty of flour on them. They formed a shape 3-4 mm thick but didn’t go well into rounds.
Tried them for 90secs a side in the pan but ended up giving them another 30 each. They won’t make wraps, too stiff, but will work as a tearing bread. A little coriander and cumin in next time perhaps.
Nagi says
Hi Peter, thanks for the feedback on gram flour! 🙂
Amy says
Hi
Can I suggest that instead of putting the oil in the pan you add the oil to the mixture. I have done it this way for a while and it turn out really nice!
Nagi says
I’ll try that Amy! I do find this works very well in a dry pan! 🙂
Peter says
Hi Nagi
Thanks for the recipe. Have you tried these with gram flour? My wife is wheat intolerant but still likes bready things.
Nagi says
Hi Peter, I’m sorry I haven’t tried it but I would love to know if you did!
Margot Maxwell says
Best flatbread ever! Make these all the time now. Better than anything I could buy and the recipe is so easy. Thank you!
Nagi says
Thank you so much Rebecca! So glad you like this!
Laarni says
I would love to try this recipe! I have one question, when you say ‘not packed’ for the flour, what does that mean? I am not very familiar with kitchen terminologies 😀
Nagi says
Hi Laarni! It just means that when you put the flour in the cup measure, don’t press it in tightly 🙂 If you do that, you can pack more flour into a cup measure!
Leanne says
Can I add cheese to this flatbread and garlic? If so how would I do that
Thanks
Nagi says
Oh yes! Divine! I’ve been meaning to share a cheese & garlic version 🙂 I’d just add them in with the flour N x
Nicole says
Great recipe. I have made these many times now and everyone loves them. If you read the long list of ingredients in the store bought, you will not want to feed them to your family.
Nagi says
Woo hoo! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know Nicole! N xx PS The ingredients that are NUMBERS worry me the most ?
Caroline says
These were so easy to do and went brilliant with Turkish kebabs. I will definitely be using this recipe again, a big hit in our house! x
Nagi says
Oh wow! I’m so happy that you tried and enjoyed thisCaroline, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
LG says
Turned out great! This was my first successful attempt at making ANY kind of bread lol thanks for the great recipe!
Nagi says
Woo hoo! So glad you like this LG, thanks for coming back to let me know! N xx
Kat says
Wonderful recipe. can you substitute coconut or grape seed oil for the vegan butter?
LG says
Kat, I used coconut oil with no problem
Nagi says
Thank you LG! I’ve added that tip to the notes of the recipe 🙂
Nagi says
HI Kat, I’m not entirely sure, I’m sorry!