Flatbread

Flatbread – soft, pliable, and easy flatbread seasoned with garlic, thyme, sugar, and salt for a tastier flatbread. You can eat it on its own, enjoy it as wraps or dunk it as naan bread. Easy, tasty, and versatile bread!

Flatbread has different names and variations across other cultures. East Africans call it chapati, Indians have their naan, and even those in Trinidad have their own version called Buss up shut paratha roti.

In general, flatbread is a simpler form of the usual bread that we knead and bake but made with fewer ingredients and cooked in a skillet. It is primarily made with flour, water, and salt (and at times yeast), thoroughly rolled into flattened dough.

My flatbread version is tastier than what you would find in stores. I wanted it to be more flavorful so that I could happily enjoy it as it is. And so I added a bit of minced garlic into it, fresh minced thyme for that minty flavor and aroma, sugar for a bit of sweetness, and salt to balance it out.

To make it a bit thicker than chapatis, I added yeast into the batter, so it will hold up well with whatever you want to stuff it with – chickpea curry, pulled pork, or chicken shawarma. Mind you; they are incredibly great! You could have this every day and just switch up the stuffings.

These make a great breakfast, quick lunch grab, or even dinner. See how versatile flatbreads are? There’s not much kneading involved here, like oven-baked bread.

If you haven’t tried making homemade bread yet, then this flatbread here is a good start for you to work with yeast. Just make sure you don’t cook this flatbread with too high heat, or it will get a bit crunchy and crispy and would easily crack when you use it as a wrap. If that happens, just lightly brush it with olive oil or butter to moisten it.

Give this a go and you would never ever have store-bought flatbreads again. And you can season it according to your preference. Get creative!

Tips and Notes

1. Here is how you can make your own homemade ghee or clarified butter or you can substitute it with melted butter.
2. You can make the dough ahead and store it in the fridge for up to three days. For an easier make-ahead meal, you can roll out each divided dough and stack them separately with cling wrap or baking paper.
3. Whole wheat flour works fine in this recipe, too.

Watch How to Make It

Combine yeast and water in a small bowl. Let it rest for a few minutes. In a large bowl stir in flour, garlic , thyme , sugar and salt. Make a well in the flour mixture then add ghee or melted butter , yogurt followed by yeast mixture . Knead to form a soft dough.

Place dough on a heavily floured board and knead for about 3-4 minutes. Dough should be soft , elastic and smooth.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise until doubled . Punch down dough.

Divide it into 6-8 pieces according to preference and let it rest . Using a rolling pin roll out dough into a circle. They do not have to be perfect circles. Begin rolling out the dough from the center working outwards. Rotate the dough out each time you roll it. This helps to make a perfect circle.

Preheat a skillet, fry pan or stove top grill pan over medium high. Lightly oil pan. Place flat bread in the skillet and cook without touching it until you see bubbles on the surface, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until bit has puffed up. Serve immediately.