Homemade Flatbread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What kind of flour do you use for flatbread? ›

Key Ingredients

Flour: I use all-purpose flour, but I have successfully made this flatbread recipe with a 50-50 blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. You can also use a gluten-free flour blend. Baking powder: We use baking powder instead of yeast (which is used in traditional flatbread recipes like pita bread).

But the difference between the two really comes down to the ingredients, they both need flour, water, and salt, but pizza dough has an additional ingredient, yeast. Pizza dough is a leavened dough where flatbread is unleavened, giving it that flat texture.

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).

Naan is another flatbread traditionally served in Indian restaurants but the difference is that there will already be a filling inside these flatbread pockets. Naan may be stuffed with curd, fresh desiccated coconut, butter, nigella seeds, and raisins.

Cassava Flour

Although higher in carbohydrates than wheat flour, cassava flour is naturally gluten-free and rich in fiber. It also has a very neutral flavor and soft consistency, making it a great candidate for homemade tortillas or grain-free flatbread.

Tortillas are typically baked on a triple pass oven, while flatbreads are usually baked in a tunnel oven. Flatbreads may also require a proofing or resting period that varies based on the specific flatbread being made.

Flatbread pizza often has a thinner crust compared to traditional pizza. A thinner crust can result in a lower calorie and carbohydrate content, making it a potential choice for those looking to reduce their calorie intake.

Is flatbread healthy? Yes! It's one of the healthiest breads you can make because it's low in calories and fat but high in fiber.

Traditional Flatbread

To make flatbread, water, salt, flour and often a leavening like yeast are combined into a dough and rolled out into a flat oblong, oval, or rectangular shape.

The majority of flat breads are consumed in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Major types include “chapati,” “roti,” “naan,” “paratha,” “poori,” “balady,” “pita,” and “barabri.” These breads typically have high crust-to-crumb ratios and limited crumb.

What makes a flatbread a flatbread? ›

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.

Leavened bread is any bread that uses a leavener, such as yeast, to make it rise. Some flat breads are leavened. They aren't quite as flat as unleavened flat breads, think tortillas vs naan, but they're flatter than a boule.

In contrast to loaf bread, pita bread and naan are considered to be flatbreads. Pita bread is yeast-leavened and round, turning into layers when baked that create a pocket that is easily filled. Naan is also yeast leavened, and contains water (or milk), flour, salt, and the addition of butter and yogurt.

It's called Irish Soda Bread because it's made with baking soda instead of yeast. Because of this, it's more dense than your everyday white sandwich bread. Hearty and rustic are the words that come to mind, and it tastes kind of nutty from the wholemeal flour.

With naan, you get more carbs, but also much more protein and fiber, both essential in keeping you feeling full while maintaining a healthy weight. On the other hand, naan contains about 80% more carbs and roughly 200% more protein than a 45-gram serving of pita.

For best results, base your yeast dough on wheat flour — only wheat-based flour provides the type and amount of protein yeast dough needs to support its structure. Whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, bread flour, or all-purpose flour are all good choices.

White flour, otherwise known as plain or all-purpose flour, contains about 75 per cent of the wheat grain, with most of the bran and wheat germ taken out. It is commonly used for cakes, pastries and biscuits. When used in cakes it is combined with a raising agent such as baking powder or bicarbonate of soda.

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

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.