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.
Although I am a newbie to dough, I have made buns, bread, and pizza by following the recipe and had great or at least edible results. This was a big fail for me. I tried multiple thickness and heat when it was apparent it was burning on the outside with the crust making a mess and the inside still doughy raw. Nothing I did worked, nor did trying to salvage in the oven. Three hours wasted. “Easy” these were not for me. I’m bummed because this is something I need for everyday since I can’t eat yeast bread and like wraps.
Did you try a couple more times, Rob? I just tried this recipe today, followed the steps and they turned out beautifully. (I do use the metric option and measure my ingredients on a scale – could that make a difference?) Best of luck!
This dough was beautiful. So easy to work with. The bread turned out perfectly, delicious, soft and easy to wrap the souvlaki I used it for. Your recipes always deliver. Your site got me with Dozer but I stayed for the recipes, thanks.
My son is allergic to both dairy and eggs( nuts too) .. do you have any Indian style bread recipes that can be made without, or substitute with nuttelex and oat/soy milk. Would that work or completely loose the tasty flavours!?
I make it with oat milk regularly and it works great! i find that the dough starts a little sticky and i need to add more flour to get a good consistency.
Hi! If i’m cooking them one day ahead of when I need them, should I freeze them, fridge them, or leave them out on the counter? Thank you!
The flatbread was SO easy and was just like Naan with the Butter Chicken! Wonderfully easy and yummy flatbread!
How far in advance can the dough be made.
I’m going to make these ( and I have before – amazing) but looking at making the dough in advance – ie night before) as I’m time poor during week. Would it still work ok? And should I store in fridge or counter?
Do as the instructions say and store in the fridge for up to 3 days if you’ve made the dough or freeze if you’ve cooked them. Either way works well.
Can these be made with whole wheat flour ? Thanks in advance !
We had these last night with your chicken shwarma. My 9 yo made the flat breads and my 6 yo cried when they were all finished! Another big hit 🙏
I made this flat bread! This is delicious. I made it to eat with my butter chicken, but I ate it without it. Yum!
Can I mix please wheat flour and maïzena at the same time? Or use only maïzena for flat bread dough?
Thank you
Love this recipe. I made it with half plain flour and half cornmeal flour (Masa Harina). Extra tasty with the cornmeal flour mixed in.
Great recipe, so easy and quick to make and my very picky family ate it happily. I won’t ever be buying it from the supermarket again! Thank you!
I I have gone over this recipe multiple times and I don’t know what I did wrong but mine came out super dense, did not puff up and only made 3 rounds. Thought u would try a new recipe but this one was not a winner.
I think one of a couple things may have happened:
1) your butter/milk wasn’t warm enough
2) you didn’t mix well
3) you didn’t give the recipe adequate rest time
4) you only made 3, vs making 6 like the recipe says
5) you didn’t roll them out correctly
I suggest trying again! If you follow the recipe to a T, you’re sure to have success!
The trick is to get the pan scorching hot (I used cast iron) and roll the flatbread thin. That makes it puff up! The first few I did were thick and dense because it wasn’t hot enough. The recipe says cut into 6 pieces but I made 10-12 flatbreads about 7″ from this recipe. They puffed up high and were delicious!
Is it 370 calories for one flatbread?
Yes. Read recipe note #8.
So easy to make and nice thin & soft when eating. I no longer buy naan or wraps from the store.
So many of your recipes are a hit in the house! Thank you.
SO delicious!! I have so many of your recipes saved in my app by now! You’re amazing!
So I just made 32 flatbreads (recipe x4 – dividing each instance of the recipe by 8) – each ball of dough was about 65-70 g. Flattened into discs then ran each through my pasta maker at dial mark 3 twice, rotating the doing on the second pass to keep the shape round instead of oblong. It worked!! Cooked them and I now have 32 flatbreads for my X-mas eve party next weekend. I’m going to freeze them and hope for the best when defrosting warming and serving. Will also be making Nagi’s lamb and chicken shawarma.
Hi Marianne how did the bread freeze?
I always make a large batch and freeze. Once cooled I place small sheets of baking paper (I reuse them a few times as they always stay in freezer) inbetween flatbreads. I put the whole stack in a ziplock bag and freeze. Then I either defrost in a wrapped tea towel at room temperature or warm in a pan.
Hi Naomi
How did freezing these go ?
Thanks
I make these about once a fortnight. A double batch every time!! 😁 They’re a bit hit in our house. I make balls from 50g of dough and roll to fit my frying pan. When they’re cooked, the leftovers go in the freezer in my decor pastry storage box!! 🙃 Reheat either in the microwave in my tortilla warmer or directly in the frying pan.
What is the recommended milk type to use? Whole, 2%, other?
I always make these with the chicken shwarma and they elevate this dish to restaurant quality. Such an easy fail proof recipe and the flavour is sublime.