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.
Can you FREEZE this ? If so… do you freeze the dough…. or freeze it AFTER it has been fried ?
Can you substitute water for the milk?
I think that will affect the softeness Josh, but it will still work! N x
I just made this to go with freekeh salad and some grilled chicken. It is fantastic!! Thanks for there recipe.
That’s wonderful to hear Mama! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 N x
I tried this recipe and I must say it’s really soft. I do enjoy eating flatbread with souvlaki or curries. Absolutely the best bread to paired with these delicious foods.
That’s wonderful to hear Cristina! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 N x
Thank you for this recipe. I love using this recipe. It never flops
I love this recipe. My family requests it about once a week. I’m actually making it again tonight with pulled pork and cabbage. It’s so good!
Just tried this recipe and it turned out great. My family loves it! Thanks for a great, easy recipe.
That’s great! So pleased you enjoyed this Christy – N x
By far the best flat bread I’ve ever eaten! It is tasty, soft and everything you want In a flat bread!
I’m thinking of trying it with a gluten-free flour and almond milk. Do you think it will work? I have a yeast allergy, so this wrap looks awesome!
Hi there! Please see the recipe notes for guidance on this! N xx
Thank you!!!!
My partner and I tried this the other night along with another of your recipes and this flat bread is fantastic. The first round I followed exactly as you instructed and they came out perfectly. The next batch I rolled the dough as thin as possible and then gently stretched it (like with lebonese flat bread) and threw some torn, shaved ham, shaved Swiss and super thin sliced green onion (sparcely – not a lot of any of these) on the thin dough and then topped it with an identical, super thin dough. I rolled them all together to flatten again and cooked on a hot cast iron tortilla pan. The texture is a lot different but this “stuffed flat bread” was also good. Thank you for a fool proof recipe!
Dear Nagi,
OMG this recipe is truly amazing.
My husband, through I’ll health, can no longer tolerate yeast. I was looking for a substitute for bread and came across this recipe.
I found it last week and it is now in demansd in our household.
It is easy to prepare and cook.
Thank you so much.
LOVE HEARING THAT!!! N xx
Was superb! Made with wheat flour instead of white and turned out great once I got my heat setting right for bread thinness. 5 stars for taste and ease to make
Should I be using salted or unsalted butter in this recipe?
Unsalted please!
Fab recipe, made them yesterday to go with chicken kebabs, salad and homemade tzatziki and hummus. So easy compared to other recipes I’ve tried and ideal for novice cooks too. Love it and will certainly be my fav flat bread recipe from now on.
That’s great Kerry! Thanks for letting me know! – N x ❤️
THIS WAS GREAT! I reread the recipe and there was only one problem that I found …you never mentioned to not keep “sampling” or else there wont be any for dinner. WHEW I am glad I doubled or else i might have been in trouble.
This is a keeper for sure. THANKS!
That’s great Vanessa! Thanks for letting me know! – N x ❤️
this is a staple in our kitchen Nagi 😀 so easy to prepare, no time wasted really, love it!
i have used whole meal wheat flour – basically i made the flour myself and milled the wheat grains in a blender – quite coarse flour, but i always use wholemeal and not highly processed 🙂 the flatbreads came out perfect! darker obviously
Last time i didnt have any wheat, just 100g remained so i added 200g rye flour – tasted again PERFECT – however kneading was much harder… i had to add more flour to stop it being so sticky, but got there, also with rolling – lol well, lets put it that way: i gave up and flattened the balls with the palms of my hands – as i said before – tasted as perfect as of the wheat flour 🙂
Next step: buckwheat flour – a bit not sure, as buckwheat can be very boring in taste, but i will add a bit more salt perhaps and will report here after 😀
None white flours are a bit harder to work with but I do love the flavour!!
Yet another wonderful recipe from you! I tried this for the first time this evening, and it was wonderful! I did wonder if you oil the pan before every piece. But, I loved the end result. Thanks!
You’re so welcome Rosy! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 N x
Can I use this flatbread for your Mexican Pizza recipe? Will it come out crispy? I do like my crust a little crispy for pizzas.
I have tried a few of your recipes and they have all turned out delicious! Plus I love the little snippets of Dozer at the end of each recipe. He is adorable!
Hi Mars! You sure can – I’ve been doing that lately. Be sure to cook the flatbreads first then use as the pizza base!
For 2 people with healthy appetites, I double this recipe. I use lactose free cows milk and it works great!
Works great.
I stir and knead everything together in one large bowl until there’s no more flour left to dirty the counter top. Then I take it out and knead the dough by hand. Slice my dough into 8 equal parts and roll out each piece. Place a round on parchment paper and creating a layer of parchment and round dough flats.
Than I refrigerate until I am ready to use them.
Woman after my own heart! LOVE this additional advice!
My mistake was using SR flour! I will use Plain next time though they tasted good enough to me. Thanks for the recipe.