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.
Absolutely loved making this.
That’s awesome Jazz! N x
The nann bread, do you wet the teatowel? When covering the bread.
I don’t bother Brian 🙂 N x
Thank you for the recipe! I tried it with olive oil but the dough ended up so sticky it was really hard to work with. Do you have any idea why? I kneaded for about 5 minutes to no avail…
Add more flour.
Hi Natalia, how much olive oil did you use? Was this in place of the butter? Imagine that may be the problem. N x
I made this flat bread last night and it was excellent. Super easy and delicious!
Great Philip! N x
I have just made this dough using vegan butter and oat milk and I added lots of fresh herbs from my garden, I plan on brushing them with garlic butter as well, to be served with homemade curry. I can’t wait to see how they turn out 😋
This is the best flatbread recipe ever. I’ve tried other recipes with yogurt instead, and they’re just not as good as this one. This recipe always turns out great!
I love your recipes and have made a good few since lockdown.
Am I able to batch make these and store a few in the fridge?
We love these! I’ve cooked them many times and now make them a bit thicker for personal pizzas, my kids love it.
That’s great to hear Emily! N x
Flat bread seemed under cooked. Is that how it is suppose to be? Cooked mine in non stick pan Any tips?
Hi Laura, try cooking for a little bit longer or rolling out a little bit thinner – N x
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it looks great! What are your thoughts about range hoods? I’m trying to decide if I should get one.
https://prolinerangehoods.com/blog/average-range-hood-installation-time-and-cost/
Hi Ashton – my knowledge lies within food, not too sure on kitchen range hoods sorry! All depends on your kitchen and cooking style! N x
Hi Nagi, I’m taking my first steps at bread making. This recipe for flatbread was so easy and turned out so well. Went great with bbq pork kebabs. Wife and daughter loved. Thanks
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Dave! N x
Came out perfect. Keep this in my recipe book
Great to hear!! N x
The butter chicken recipe you have is outstanding – much better than restaurant quality. I made one mistake though…buying pre-made naan. It was doughy and tough. Tomorrow I’ll be making butter chicken again and this flatbread is a MUST. Just seeing the video I know it’ll be yet another successful evening thanks to Nagi!
I’ve never been happy with store bought Naan, homemade is so much better Leslie! N x
This flatbread recipe is great, and so easy! I have made it twice and plan to make it many more times. I brush mine with garlic butter and serve with chicken Tandoori, so good!
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Stef! N x
Thanks so much! I’ve been looking at your recipes for ages. I just made the flatbread. OMG, so delicious & easy. Guess I’ll be gaining even more weight ☺️
I’m so glad you love it Cheryl! N x
Absolutely amazing. So light and delicious. Definitely be making these again!
Thanks so much Puja! N x
Thank you for this starting point and method, Nagi! My boy is milk protein free so I made it with coconut milk and butter. Delicious!
Oh that’s great to know Anna!! N x
This is such an easy flatbread recipe! I discovered it a few years ago from Julie Goodwin too.
My daughter made this tonight with your butter chicken recipe. Just like a chapati! Yum
I made this because we ran out of flatbread for a Lebanese meal. Super easy and the kids loved it. Should I store them in the fridge after?
Yep – store int he fridge and reheat in the microwave to serve. I’m so glad you enjoyed them Michael! N x