Easy Flatbread (No Yeast) Recipe For Soft Flatbread In Under An Hour! (2024)

FAQs

What makes flatbread flat? ›

A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread.

Flat breads are made throughout most of the world. Examples are pita (from the Middle East), chapati and naan (India), tortilla (Mexico) and focaccia (Italy). The bread may be leavened (have a raising agent of yeast or sourdough) or unleavened.

Cook the flatbread on medium heat – too high heat will burn them. And yet, too low heat will cause them to become too hard when cooled. It is very important to place the cooked flatbread wrapped in a clean kitchen cloth. This causes the steam in the bread to cool inside the bread and keeps it soft.

If your flatbreads are too dense, it's probably because you did not knead the dough enough. Make sure your dough looks completely smooth after kneading. You should also make sure that your baking powder is still viable or your flatbread will not rise as they bake and will turn out dense and hard.

Yet, the two main categories of flatbreads include single-layered (either leavened or unleavened) bread and double-layered, leavened bread.

Lavash is a fully baked flatbread that is usually lower in sodium, less doughy and chewy, and generally contains less oil. Lavash's rectangular shape makes it easier to fit in lots of good stuff inside when you're making wraps.

All unleavened bread is flatbread, but most flatbread actually has some sort of leavening in it. Leavening can include yeast, or a combination of chemicals that produce a gas that puffs up the bread (baking powder and baking soda are the two most common.) Most flatbread recipes that I have use yeast.

Naan is a leavened flatbread with a soft and chewy texture.

One of the easiest ways our bakers follow to make bread soft and fluffy is by using 1-2 tablespoons of lubricant/fats such as vegetable oil to wet the ingredients. This will prevent the formation of excess gluten, as excess gluten makes bread chewy.

/ˈpiː.tə/ abbreviation for pain in the ass: used, for example on social media and in text messages, to refer to someone or something that is annoying: Deeply held beliefs are no excuse for being a PITA. It was a real PITA to then get the sugar into the mixing bowl. More examples.

Why does pita bread go bad so fast? ›

Editor: Amanda, we suspect that the problem with pita bread has to do with the way that pita bread is sold… in a plastic bag! A sealed plastic bag is a very bad environment for bread. It traps moisture and, especially in hot and humid weather like this, encourages mold.

Tap the Bottom

Take the loaf out of the oven and turn it upside down, taking it out of the pan if you're making a sandwich loaf. Give the bottom of the loaf a couple firm taps with your thumb. The bread will sound hollow when it's done.

It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used. Always use strong flour instead of plain and make sure too much salt was not added.

The main cause for homemade bread drying out so quickly is the fact that no preservatives are used in the baking process. Store-bought bread uses preservatives that not only keep it moist but also help keep mold away. Homemade bread lacks preservatives, and so it does not last nearly as long as a store-bought loaf.

Too Much Flour

If you add too much flour to the bread dough, it turns stiff and dry. Ultimately, the yeast also dries out, producing bread with poor (if any at all!) rise. Tip: Invest in a good kitchen scale; you can never go wrong with your measurements with one!

You might have overbulked it. Too flat? The dough temperature might have been too cold. Either way, she assures people, don't worry too much — even if the bread is technically flawed, it's probably still delicious with butter or jam.

Add more yeast, blend in the starter, or knead in more flour to help initiate rising. Dough that has expired yeast, too much salt, all-purpose or cake flour, or antifungal spices like cinnamon might have trouble rising.

On the other hand, flatbreads usually lack yeast or any kind of leavening agent, which creates its signature flat and crispy crust. This baking method makes flatbreads more similar to the earliest pizza recipes than modern pizza.