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No Yeast Flatbread

No Yeast Flatbread

These no-yeast flatbreads are soft, pliable, and tender from butter and milk, made with plain all-purpose flour for a mild, slightly rich flavor. They come together quickly and are ready in about 26 minutes total, perfect for wraps, dipping, or serving with curries.
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Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:16 minutes
Total Time:26 minutes
Course: Stovetop
Keyword: flatbread, no-yeast, stovetop

Equipment

  • mixing bowl
  • small saucepan or microwave-safe jug
  • non-stick frying pan
  • plastic wrap or clean towel

Ingredients

  • 4 cups plain all-purpose flour Note 1
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • pinch baking powder
  • 11/2 cups milk Note 2
  • 7 tablespoons butter Note 3
  • 1 teaspoon oil Note 6

Instructions

  1. Add the 4 cups plain all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of baking powder to a mixing bowl.
  2. Add the 7 tablespoons butter and 1½ cups milk to a small saucepan or microwave-safe jug. Gently heat until the butter is just melted; do not boil.
  3. Pour the warm butter–milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture starts to come together into a dough.
  4. Dust your work surface with a little flour and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes, just until it feels smooth and soft. If the dough is too sticky, add a touch more flour as needed.
  5. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap or cover with a clean towel and let it rest at room temperature for 30-45 minutes to relax the gluten and make it easier to roll out.
  6. After resting, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Lightly flour the work surface and roll each ball out into a round about 2-3mm thick.
  7. Place a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil if you want to cook them with oil.
  8. Let the pan get hot before you start cooking; use a slightly lower heat if you are cooking with oil.
  9. Place one dough round in the hot pan; it should start to puff as it cooks. Cook for about 1 minute, then flip and cook the other side for 45 seconds to 1 minute.
  10. As each flatbread finishes cooking, stack them on a plate and wrap them in a clean tea towel to keep them warm and soft while you cook the rest.

Notes

Regular flour works perfectly here; no need for bread flour. You can also use whole wheat flour or a mixture of the two.
I usually use full-fat milk for these, but recently I tried with 2% and the recipe worked well. So use what you have available.
I usually have salted butter on hand. But you can use unsalted. You can also substitute the butter for olive oil.
Only add flour is really needed. The more flour you add, the tougher the flatbreads will be. A soft dough gives a softer bread.
If you want to serve these for dipping, you can leave them thicker. They will need to cook longer.
If you use them as a wrap, you don't need oil when you cook the flatbreads. But if you want them for curry (instead of Paratha), they are delicious when cooked in some oil or butter. (but they don't need to be)
Don't overcook the flatbread; this can cause it to be tough and also to crack when folded or rolled.
Recipe adapted fromJo CooksandJulie Goodwin.