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
Summer, autumn, spring and winter. Rain, hail or shine.
Could you make this with sorghum or coconut flour?
I’m afraid I haven’t tried Linda! N x
Hello Nagy,
I would like to make spelt soft flatbread with olive oil and almond milk and am wondering how your recipe would work with white or wholemeal spelt flour. In that case should any changes be made to the quantities of the ingredients?
Many thanks
Luminita
Hi Luminita! This recipe works terrific with both white and wholemeal flour 🙂 N x
Many thanks! I will try 🙂 and see how it goes. L
Nagi, these where great!! As promised, soft and pliable, so easy to make in the thermomix and the dough was super easy to roll out. Can guarantee that this recipe will e used over and over in this house. Thank you!!
That’s so great to hear Kathy! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Ni Nagi,
the 370 calories are for 4 pieces or per piece? it seems a bit much for 1 piece
Hi Monica! Just ran it through again to check and that is right. These are quite large. You could cut down the calories by making 6 thinner ones instead of 4 large ones 🙂
Hi Nagi,
Thanks a lot for checking 🙂 Ok I will try to make thinner ones instead.
Just made this. Turned out perfectly!
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Tim!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
If I was to prepare the dough in advance and put in fridge- at what stage and would you let it rest again when it comes out of the fridge? What if pre roll them- do they go straight in the pan?
HI Sue! The dough is resting in the fridge so just roll it out when you take it out. If you pre roll, yes they go straight into the pan 🙂
Hi,
Wheatgern contains most of the good nutrition in wheat. Would it be possible to use all purpose flour and add wheatgerm? It should be a beneficial
Tony
I think that will be fine!
I need to make a lot for a party, how long could they be kept warm in a low oven do you think? Or would they stay soft and be ok at room temperature?
Thanks
Hi Nagi,
Sorry if I’m repeating myself… would this work as a pizza base? I imagine I’d cook them before using as pizza base.
I love your recipes…as they always work!! Not to mention totally delicious 😋
Many thanks,
Dee
I JUST TRIED IT YESTERDAY!!! IT WORKS AMAZING – use my pizza recipe I shared last Friday!! N xx PS Yes cook before adding toppings 🙂
Belated thanks Nagi!🙏
Superb recipe. Thank you. Family thoroughly enjoyed theses. We had them to accompany a Morroccan Lamb Tagine. Delicious.
Simple to make. Will deffo be making again….and again.
That’s wonderful to hear Andrea!! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
Just an idea. I cook flatbreads when we make curry at home and they don’t usually need resting so I saw that it took 15 minutes to make but as i started making it it said rest for 30 minutes, so maybe add that into the time at the top of the recipe. Worked great though.
Hi Lib, I’m sorry about that, I don’t know how to add a field for resting time. I will add it to the description!
I am a Brit living in Thailand and find it difficult to get decent bread at a reasonable cost here. As I don’t have an oven I have been trying different flatbread recipe’s from all over the net and have to say that this one is definitely about the best I have come across and the first I have ever felt the need to comment on. I followed your ingredients to the letter but found I needed a bit more flour than you listed. Not a problem as I expect different flours from around the world will have slightly differing properties. As with another here in the comments section I needed more like 15 minutes of kneading to get the desired texture but the end result was superb. The dough rolled out better than any I have so far tried and when cooked was exactly as described. Soft, pliable, and very tasty. I had a couple as wraps for lunch just now and the rest are in the fridge waiting for my keema curry to be finished and I am sure they will enjoy being married up with that dish. Thank you for posting your recipe.
I’m so pleased to hear that Les! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
What type of milk did you use? Evaporated milk, cow’s milk? Etc….? THIS IS A REALLY GREAT RECIPE. THANKS
Hi Salina! I use ordinary cow’s milk, low fat or full fat 🙂 N x
Hi. I normally require a bigger batch for my family. Should I just double up on all the quantities? Thanks
Hi Carmen! Yep, just use the servings scaler by hovering your mouse of the Servings 🙂 N x
My family and I really enjoyed this. I have a question- do I need to let the milk and butter mixture cool down before I add the flour. While tasting great the flat bread did not bubble as much as I thought it would.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Lute! Nope it’s fine to mix while warm, actually makes it easier to knead 🙂 How thin did you roll the dough?? 🙂 N x
I want to know what type of gluten free flour I used. Can I make gluten free all purpose flour at home.if yes can you please send me the recipe how to make gluten free flour. Thank you.this tortilla recipe is great.
Hi Razia, I’m sorry but I don’t know how to make GF flour 🙂 Try googling it? 🙂
Hey Nagi!
Big fans here! Can I cook these a few hours beforehand and then reheat either in oven or hot pan? Also do I store them in fridge in between?
Love the Ramsay family xx
Yes! I’ve done that for camping 🙂 N x
Really enjoying your website. Tried this recipe today for the first time: my ten year old twins pronounced it “a keeper, Mama!’. I agree. However – I disagree, heartily, with ‘…only a minute or two of kneading’. I have made yeast breads many, many times, and I had to knead this (delightfully soft) dough for a good fifteen minutes before it got close to the pliable, uniform dough demonstrated in the video. Lesson learned – next time I will invite my good friend Kitchen Aid to the flatbread party! Other than that -a definite keeper. Didn’t last long enough to discover how it freezes. Can’t wait to use this with the chicken souvlaki recipe on the site. And – your photos are exquisite!
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Bernice! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Hi Nagi! Greetings from Borneo!
Omg! Thank you for your recipe. Im a beginner and this is my first time making a flatbread.My husband loves them and he said they are much better than store bought!
Definitely gonna make them again!
I’m so happy to hear that Eve!! N x ❤️
Good recipe. However, the bread still isn’t as pliable as I’d like and it’s difficult to make the pieces as large as I’d like too (I used whole wheat flour). Store-bought flatbread is still superior to homemade flatbread in those two respects. I’ve had the same problem with pita recipes I’ve tried too. Store-bought flatbread has other ingredients that this recipe doesn’t have like “guar gum.” Those other ingredients must be the key.