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.
Please provide a conversion from ounces to tsp or tbl please. Butter is sold in pounds in the US and the 1/4 lb sticks are marked off in tablespoons.
Done. Hope that helps! 🙂
so is it 4 cups or 2 cups of flour???
AHHH!!! SO SORRY Ruth 🙁 I forgot to update the steps as well! Now fixed – it is 2 cups. 🙂 (It used to be 4 until I reduced it to a half batch, the update I referred to in the intro of the recipe). Thanks for picking that up! N x
Never mind. I reread the directions after I added the oil to the flour LOL
I’m making this right now but it doesn’t say at what point you add the olive oil to the flour. Or is it meant to grease the pan that you fry the bread in? It’s confusing!
Hi Mari! The oil is for cooking, it is in step 6 of the recipe 🙂
Thank you Nagi for another easy and delicious recipe! My kids gobbled up these warm flatbreads paired with the chickpea curry. I think I’ll make them again today for wraps. Thank you again!
Thank you Dawn! I’m so glad you and the kids enjoyed this!! 🙂
Excellent results!
Thank you, Nagi for a recipe for flatbread that we really like – and so easy. First batch went so fast I made up another (and rested dough for only 15 min – same good results)
Only change I made was not to oil pan – turned out to be unnecessary.
Thank you, and look forward to trying your other recipes.
Cheers from Athens
PS I removed your surname 🙂 N x
Bravo, Nagi, this is the best recipe I’ve found for flatbreads. Easy and foolproof (I say that as someone who’s often a bit casual about measurements )
Having had disappointing results from other recipes, I was just testing yours without high hopes – cut yours down by 3/4 . They went fast and I made a second, full batch (resting dough for only 15 minutes). Worked just as well.
Just one suggestion – I found they baked perfectly well without the oil in the pan.
Looking forward to trying your other recipes.
Thanks from Athens, Greece.
That’s so wonderful Anna, thank you! The key is using the milk and butter, that’s what keeps the nice and soft, the other quick and easy ones tend to be at risk of ending up really crispy and dry. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed these and thank you for the oil tip, I must admit I’ve never tried this without oil, I will give it a go! 🙂
Have you tried making this recipe with whole wheat flour or other types of (non-wheat) flours with success?
Hi Tamas, it works fabulously with wholewheat flour. I have not tried making this with gluten free flour but readers have reported that the dough is harder to roll out but they enjoyed the flavour!
This is now my go to recipe for flatbreads and I make it at least once a week. I use water instead of milk and lard in place of the butter as my daughter can’t tolerate large amounts of dairy, they come out perfect every time. Thank yu for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jen, thank you so much for coming back to let me know!!! N x
I’m interested to try this recipe. I’m just wondering about the nutrition box thing at the end. Is one serve considered one of the eight balls of the whole dough mix? Like, the whole recipe is eight servings?
Also, would this work with vegan butter and soy/oat (or other non-dairy milk)?
Hi Stacey! The nutrition is for one flatbread 🙂 And I’m sorry, I haven’t tried this with vegan butter but previous readers have tried it with non dairy milk and said it worked great!
Hi, Nagi!
Where can I find the recipe for the tasty pesto in this photo to pair with the delicious looking flatbread?! Thanks
Hi Kimberly! Gosh, I can’t believe I don’t have a pesto recipe on my site! I did sneak it in the notes in this recipe though: https://wellnessoffers.info/pea-zucchini-pesto-orzo-risoni/%3C/a%3E I must add pesto properly!!!
This is the best recipe for flat bread thank you …live in the Congo DRC …..and this is so helpful when making raps. The best ?
Thanks
Myra
Thank you Myra, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Tried making these last night to go with a beef korma and they turned out amazing! I have never made bread before but they turned out great! I left them quite thick and rolled in some caraway seeds and my family said it was the best meal I’ve ever served! Thanks for the fantastic and easy recipe 🙂
Thank you so much Paige! I’m so glad you enjoyed these! 🙂
Oh, dear, unlike most people here, we did not like these very much, too sweet and cloying. Sorry but not for us. Back on the hunt for a good and easy recipe for flatbreads, probably will have to go to the yeast based ones.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this. I’m surprised you found it too sweet, there is not much sugar in this! And yes if you want a really fluffy one then yeast is the way to go 🙂
I woke up at the crack of dawn dying for bread and had a go at making these Nagi. I made a half batch, had one normal size for an egg wrap for me and made one monster one for Hungry Hubby and made him what I can only describe as a Breakfast Burrito-zilla lol. It was a whopper 😉 And there is still dough left! Like others have commented, these are very like roti – in fact I’d say they are more like paratha as the buttery flavour and flaky texture is just great and they are much easier to make than the traditional Indian version. Just one thing Nagi – I weighed my flour rather than using cups and I needed to add about another 1/4 cup’s worth of flour as it was so, so soft. I mean, that is what makes them so soft but I tend to take it at 140g per cup flour and wonder if you’d tried it weighed out too? I will definitely add these to our regular recipes thank you Nagi 😀
Jo! Thank you SO MUCH for that feedback, I will double check the weight measurements! You know, it’s interesting, the thinner these are rolled, the more like roti/paratha they are. If slightly thicker, they are like Mediterranean flatbreads. And OMG, that Burrito-zilla….it sounds SO GOOD!!!!
Hi I want to make this tomorrow can I use unbleached organic flour?
You sure can Leann! 🙂
Hi, is a ‘cup’ of flour the equivalent of 136 grams? In most of Europe we don’t use cups so this is always confusing!
Hi there! 1 cup of plain flour is 125g, so 4 cups is 500g. I’ve added that to the recipe, thanks for the tip re: Europe measurements!
Many thanks Nagi. Can I also ask for the milk in mls rather than the cup measurement ? Thanks again for help.
Done. 375ml 🙂
wow.. We have the same recipe followed here in India and we call it chapati/roti. Its wonderful that you liked it.
Yes Anukamp, I just came here to post that Nagi has inadvertently given my the perfect roti recipe. I’m from the Caribbean and have been trying to find the perfect roti recipe for a while. I’ve come close, but i think this has been the closest to perfection in my mind 🙂
Thank You!
I’m so glad!!! I have seen other readers comment that this was similar to roti! 🙂
I didn’t realise that! The Indian bread recipes I have tried do not have as much butter and milk in them!
Yes, you are right . We don’t use butter and milk always as we eat them as our daily diet. On special occasions or festivals, we do use butter and milk to knead the dough
Looked 2 days ago for an easy flatbread to go with eggs poached on spicy fresh veg (a type of eggs en cocotte ) and stumbles across this recipe. It was so quick and easy and so delicious that it has already been added to my cookery book. Grandchildren down next week, going to get them to make them and try it out. I am sure they will be fans too. Thank you so much
YAY! So glad you enjoyed it Maureen!! It really is my favourite flatbread recipe!
So easy! Made this to have with curry instead of rice. My family voted this the best meal I’ve ever made!
Oooh! I’m so glad you and the fam enjoyed this Tezel, thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
Hi Nagi
These worked out fantastic, my first attempt was huge success.
Thanks
Yay!! So glad to hear that Yvette! 🙂
This was first attempt at making bread. Loved it. Went perfectly with our curry and will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Dean! Thank you so much for letting me know!! 🙂