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.
Excellent. So easy plus you can add any flavourings you want.
Can you use almond flour instead? (Trying to eat healthier, sorry)
Thank you.
Soo delicious what the heck!! I put cheese in mine and rolled them out 🙂 brushed them with garlic + chili oil and my goodness it’s perfection. 100% remaking forever 🥖🍞🫓
Absolutely beautiful with Nagi’s butter chicken recipe! Very quick, easy and inexpensive. Can’t get over how good all of your recipes are, and your clear instructions and helpful tips make the recipes so easy to follow. Thank you so much for sharing them! Your recipes are my go to now, even if I did botch up my attempt at the cupcakes! 🙂
These were SO EASY to make! I was pleasantly surprised! I added some za’atar seasoning to the dough. We ate them with chicken shawarma, roasted chickpeas and onions, yogurt sauce and cucumbers.
So easy to make and in no time as well!
These are a winner…
Though a bit confused about if you oil the pan or you don’t?!
I think you oil the pan if you want a deeper colour! I didnt oil my pan and they were perfect ^_^
Made this to go with your Middle Eastern Lamb Pilaf – both amazing!
This was exactly as described, easy and will never buy pre made again
Can the milk be substituted with water?
I was trying to re-create a flatbread sandwich from our amazing local Italian Pasta & Pizzeria restaurant. This recipe was perfect and oh so easy for the flatbread similar to the restaurant’s. I rolled them out too thinly to mimic the restaurant. Next time I will divide the dough into quarters instead of 6 pieces and not roll as thinly. My husband & I used 1 flatbread each for our sandwiches. The remaining flatbreads were perfect for mini pizzas for our 15 y.o. son. Everybody was happy for dinner! Thanks for such a simple yet delicious recipe. When I have more time, I will try your naan recipe.
Does the recipe make 4 or 6 flatbreads?
Recipe says 6 but video shows dough cut in 4.
Video shows 4 and adding oil to the pan; recipe says 6 and no oil. I did 8 small ones and did half with oil, half without. The ones with oil were great fresh, but didn’t store well; the ones without oil stored much better. So do what works for you.
Amazingly simple & wonderful taste & texture! I made to complete my Lebanese Chicken Shawarma supper. Thank you for sharing!
My new go to when we don’t want rice and I don’t have time to go to the shops to buy flat bread! Thank you! Fool proof!
Hi Nagi, love your recipes. Can you create an easy recipe for making flatbread that is gluten free? Need more recipes for those who are gluten intolerant 😉 thanks a bunch
Josie
See Note 5
Made these with 2 toddlers, worked well. Made with no oil in a non-stick pan. Puffed well. Had with chicken tikka and yogurt sauce.
I’ve tried it several times and it
doesn’t puff. What am I doing wrong??
Maybe you’re not kneading long enough to get the gluten going? Maybe your pan isn’t hot enough? I splash mine with water to create steam also, which makes it fluffier 🙂
Yes, my results were the same. Hope the birds like the broken up pieces, I ended up spitting it out!
I had the same experience. No puff at all.
Thing I love about your recipes, easy to follow so there are very little opportunities to mess up. I share with granddaughters who are miles away and we haven’t had a problem to date.
can I make this with gluten free flour and almond milk
I followed the recipe and the first 4 didn’t rise. The last 2 did but it was hard on the outside and pasty on the inside. I had hopes the this would be the recipe that will work for me I’m not sure why mine didn’t turn our
I love this recipe. I use it for Passover. This year, I added garlic and rosemary.
Made these a few times now. Love them. If you only want to make 2 or 3 you can use the blitz method to make the dough (see the recipe for quiche crust). Add flour and butter (cubed and at room temperature). Mix shortly at high speed. Then add the cold milk and blend again until you have dough. Take it out and knead for a minute or so to smoothe de dough.