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:
Life of Dozer
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Hi, I wonder how long can I keep the flatbread(after I make it) or can I refrigerate the dough to keep it for how many days?
Hi Ngai, you could freeze up to 3 months or fridge for up to 4 days, just microwave to soften. N x
Just made this with dairy free/vegan butter and milk and it turned out excellent!
I also made this vegan, using avocado oil butter and almond milk. I used all-purpose flour. It was definitely fast and easy! I have learned with experience if the dough feels too sticky, just add a dash of flour until it starts to feel workable. So that’s what I did. My only issue is, I would get these rolled out nice and thin and shaped well, but then when I picked them up off the counter they immediately started shrinking! So when I got them to the pan I felt like they were much smaller than what I wanted them to be. The consistency was ok, I think on the first few it was a little thick, and as another commenter mentioned, that made it a bit doughy of a texture. However the last 2 I made I feel like I go them thin enough and it was much crispier and satisfying of a texture. I added some onion salt to the dough when I was frying it, and made a sandwich, which was pretty tasty!
Thank you Chelsea! I was wondering how the vegan version would turn out!
I love hearing this!!! Thanks so much Chelsea! N x
I’m planning on making your flatbread tonight to serve with several curries. I know they will be a great success as all of your delicious recipes have been a hit. Thank you for sharing, wonderful woman!
Enjoy Sharryl!! N x
This sounds amazing, I’m planning to make this Recipe this weekend with your schawarma recipe. I’m wondering if these can be made a day in advance, or are they best served immediately?
Hi Lorrie, you can definitely make in advance, just store in the fridge and reheat in the microwave before serving 🙂 N x
I’m going to try this!
1/When you said it can be pre-made, did you mean rolling out the 4 pieces into circles, then overlap them with plastic wrap or parchment paper, and then keep in fridge for up to 3 days?
2/Does it lose it’s shape, or would I need to roll it again,
3/ Do I need to let it come to room temp before frying?
Thanks!
Hi Ann, Just make the dough and wrap it in cling wrap then store in the fridge. When you’re ready to use it, remove it from the fridge 15 minutes prior to portioning it and rolling it flat. N x
I made these as the tortillas for your beef enchiladas recipe because I’ve had no success with those rubbery store bought things and these were awesome! (I just rolled them thinner like you said).
This is soooo versatile! And super easy!
Thanks to the toddler distracting me while cooking, I discovered that you can get just a touch of char on them even in an ordinary frying pan! I could use this for lots of things, even naan, which I was always told was impossible to make at home.
Thank you Nagi, this is amazing and brilliant.
Would it be possible to make these with heavy cream instead of milk? Would it just be an even swap or would I need to adjust anything else in the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Christine, I would sub with half heavy cream, half water. N x
Is it 2 cups of flour (normally 240g) or 300g?
Hi Jason, 2 cups is 300g as per the recipe. N x
Hi Nagi
I absolutely love your flatbread recipe, I have a large household and these have become a go to! I make them in the sandwich maker so I can make tons while cooking, they cook really well in there! Your site has got me through iso! Thanks again xx
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS!!! I nearly didn’t make it because I couldn’t be bothered, but glad I did, it was SO easy, and fun to make. It worked perfectly and I was so chuffed with myself. It was my favourite part of dinner! Thank you!!
Super easy and good! Was out of milk so replaced it and the butter with heavy cream – worked perfectly!
Great Terry! N x
I made this flatbread today. I used cup4cup gluten free flour and added Italian herbs and garlic. It really cooked nicely. So many recipes don’t transfer to gluten free, but yours really did! Thank you!!
That’s so great to know, thanks so much Tanya! N x
Nagi!!!! Wow just wow! Finally a quick delicious flatbread that turned out simply delicious. Thank you! So much better even than a tortilla for a breakfast sandwich IMO. Will be eating a lot more beans which I love with naan bread but rarely have on hand- but not anymore ☺️
Delicious! I made them to use as naan with my very quick Indian dinner (heating up some packets of pre-prepared lentils and veggies). I would say they were definitely more like tortillas than naan, but they were really tasty, and avoided an unnecessary trip to the store.
Was wondering if these could be grilled on a charcoal grill? This would be so good for camping!
They sure can Sandy! N x
Wow! Quick, easy and delicious! We had them with home made veggie soup and wanted to eat them all in one sitting!
I wiped the pan with a garlic clove before cooking in a small amount of oil, then sprinkled a some rock salt when cooked.
These will become a regular in our home!
These are just super and my boys and I love them.
Am I able to freeze the dough as I’m often short on time?
Hi Nagi, I made these for the first time the other week and they were great. Just wanted to let you know (& anyone who was wondering) that the recipe works just as well with GF flour. We had friends for dinner and I made a greek feast using all your recipes. One of the guests is Gluten free. I used the Aldi GF flour to make your flat breads and they said not only were they impressed that I made them, but that they were actually tasty. Better than shop ones! I brushed them with garlic oil before frying for extra flavour. I had to send them the recipe!
Great recipe! So easy to make. I have made a number of recipes from this website and not one has disappointed they are all delicious. Thank you so much for sharing them.
Have you ever frozen the flatbread after baking? I’d like to attempt turkey and cheese roll ups similar to the uncrustables version. Thanks!
I love this recipe! I’m vegan, so I substitute the milk for soy milk and the butter for vegan spread or olive oil and it works just fine! I usually have to add a bit more flour because the dough is a bit sticky, but that’s most likely because I live in a humid country. I eat these all the time plain cause they’re so darn yummy even on their own!