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.
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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:
Life of Dozer
Summer, autumn, spring and winter. Rain, hail or shine.
I started of to make what would be a good wrap. I experimented with my toasted sandwich press.
I put the lid down and ended up with the crispiest flat bread ever. Went well with some Blue Brie. Pore dough left, and my wife doesn’t want soft wraps. Just the crisp flat bread crackers.
Wow, very easy and worked well with the chicken. One of the simplest flat breads to make. Thank you,
My husband and I are on a Daniel Fast for 3 weeks. We kept reading that we could have flatbread because it is unleavened bread BUT all store bought flatbreads have some sort of yeast. After research, I came across this recipe and it is a game changer. We substituted olive oil for the butter and unsweetened almond milk for the milk. We actually made “pizzas” with them! Thank you!
And I forgot to mention we used 100% stone ground whole wheat flour. 🙂
the best easiest naan! cannot fault it and have also used for souv’s!
naan bread actually has yeast in it & is a lot thicker & fluffier. id say this is more like a roti flatbread.
if you really want naan, this is my go to recipe. its very easy!
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-naan-step-step-photos/
Just made this flatbread (turned out perfect!) to go with your Chicken Shawarma and Lemon Rice Pilaf. Divine!!!
Fantastic recipe! Super easy, and worked wonderfully. Impressed the in-laws ;-).
I used old yeast, exp 3 wks ago in bread machine. Didn’t rise. Looked for flat bread recipe to see how ingred compare. Fairly close so flattened into 6 and used your recipe on how to cook. Worked well and will save your recipe to make them the correct way in the future. So thanks.( Have to still give 5 stars)
Never made flatbread or Naan before, and was about to attempt Naan, when I saw this. Worked perfectly, yet another faultless recipe from Nagi.
This is my go to recipe for naan! I love making this dough. It’s quick and easy and turns out perfect every time!!
this is not naan. naan is a fluffy thick bread risen with yeast. this is a flatbread like roti.
heres my go to naan recipe if you really want naan. its very easy!
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-naan-step-step-photos/
I’ve used several recipes for flatbread. This is the only one that is absolutely spot on. Works every time. I topped it with finely chopped garlic, French feta while on the pan and then capers, scallions and smoked salmon. Off the charts! Thanks so much, Nagi!
thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. They are delicious…
Another great recipe, thanks Nagi. My family devoured this with fresh tzatziki tonight.
Excellent Jade!! N x
I made this to use for pizza crust and it works too! So simple to follow for someone who’s never baked before!
Made these (as i’m a celiac) using gluten free plain white flour, and they turned out nearly perfect! first batch i made a little too thick (long day) but they were still good, next batch was a food-life changer for me! I don’t eat much bread so buying a loaf is a waste of money but this does everything and more! Going to try so many variations; pizza, cheese&bacon maybe? So much to explore with these! Delicious and amazingly easy!! Thank youu
Fab accompaniment to the butter chicken recipe! I don’t think I used enough salt, and I rolled them a bit thick/I undercooked them (tasted a bit floury) but stoked with my first attempt! Might try and make a cheesy and garlic version next
Cheesy garlic is next level, there’s no stopping you now!! 😂
I made these with your chicken shawarma recipe (my favorite!), but I messed it up somehow. They came out really doughy. Maybe I didn’t roll them thin enough?
Hi Erica, sorry you had trouble here – if they were doughy, it sounds like they need to be thinner and cooked slightly longer. N x
My flatbread was hard and not pliable. What do I do?
Hi Sapphire, sounds like they may be overcooked if not pliable. I would cook over a lower heat and then remove from the pan, cover in a tea towel so they don’t dry out and stay pliable. N x
Made this to eat with homemade hummus and it turned out perfect! So easy I don’t think I’ll ever need store-bought flatbread or pitas again!
I made one large but it didn’t puff up. First one so maya be too thick, I then decided to make smaller ones instead and these puffed up and look great. Like this and will make afainn
I made these twice now and they are amazing!!! I used a mix of white, whole wheat four, butter and olive oil. So delicious.
If I want to eat them the next day (already fried up), should I freeze them or keep in the fridge?
Hi Ann, store int he fridge and I usually microwave just before I eat 🙂 N x