Quick Flatbreads (no yeast)

Quick Flatbreads are easy to make and so versatile that every home cook should have this recipe! With no yeast, there’s no kneading and no waiting for the dough to rise. Just fifteen minutes’ rest and you’re ready to go.

But, unlike many no-yeast quick flatbreads, mine don’t contain yogurt either. All you need do for this dough is mix together plain flour, baking powder, salt, oil and water.

Soft and pliable, Quick Flatbreads can be stuffed and rolled with your favourite fillings. Or tear off a piece and dive into your favourite dip.

In this post I’ll also show you a couple more things to do with these adaptable breads, including Quick flatbread pizza.

Jump to Recipe

Anyone who follows me online will know that I love making breads of all kinds. I’m especially fond of my crusty homemade bread with no kneading and my no-knead sourdough bread. I also have a rather good recipe for Pitta Bread which gives a nice, open pocket every time.

But, like everyone else, sometimes I want bread in double-quick time without having to wait for the yeast (or sourdough starter) to do its thing.

Because I slice and freeze virtually all my loaves, I usually have a good stock of those. However, the type of bread I most often need at short notice (usually to go with something I fancy for that day’s lunch or dinner) is flatbread.

Now, over the years, I’ve tried several ‘quick’, ‘no yeast’ and ‘no knead’ flatbread recipes. But I’ve never been entirely happy with any of them. Some are spongey. Others are dry and hard. Many simply refuse to cook properly in the middle.

So I decided to create my own and couldn’t be happier with the final result.

EASY FLATBREAD DOUGH

Doing my research, one of the things that made me discount many recipes was that they contained yogurt. Don’t get me wrong. I love yogurt. I even make my own Instant Pot yogurt. But what I was after was a simple, not-too-thick flatbread that won’t overwhelm whatever I’m eating it with.

So, all you’ll need for my Quick Flatbreads are:

• plain flour
• baking powder
• salt
• water
• olive oil

It takes barely two minutes to stir then use your hand to bring the ingredients together.

The dough should leave the bowl clean and will be quite soft. But don’t worry that the dough looks a bit rough.

After just fifteen minutes sitting in a covered bowl, you’ll find it silkily smooth once you start working with it.

ROLLING OUT

I’ve written the detailed recipe at the end of the post to make 4 Quick Flatbreads. I’ve also included an easy formula for multiplying up AND given the ingredient amounts for 6 and 8 flatbreads.

Start by dividing the dough into your chosen number of pieces then form these into balls.

Rolling each ball into a circle of 18-19 cm in diameter will ensure that the dough will be the correct thickness: 2-3mm.

I’m by no means an expert at rolling out perfect circles. But the easiest way is to roll up once from the bottom of the circle, give it a quarter turn, roll up from the bottom again then keep going: quarter turn, roll, quarter turn, roll.

As the dough contains oil, you should be able to roll it without too much extra flour to stop it sticking. And you don’t want too much flour on the outside as this can make the flatbreads hard.

I suggest you roll out all four flatbreads before going on to cook them one at a time.

COOKING THE FLATBREADS

I use a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat to cook the flatbreads.

Once it’s up to temperature, I brush over a mix of olive oil and melted butter. You can just use oil, of any kind, if you prefer.

Once the fat is sizzling, shake off any excess flour from your first flatbread and pop it in.

Pretty soon you should see bubbles appearing on the surface. But don’t worry if your first one doesn’t look quite as bubbly as the one in the photo below!

I don’t know why, but whether I’m cooking flatbreads, pancakes or Staffordshire oatcakes my first one never turns out quite right! Perhaps I’m just impatient and start cooking before the pan’s properly up to heat.

Depending on the temperature and how thinly you rolled the dough, the underside should be golden with flecks of brown after 1 – 2 minutes. Have a peek underneath to check.

You’ll need to brush the pan again with oil/oil and butter before cooking the second side. I use a spatula to lift up the flatbread while I do this then flip it back in the pan.

The second side will take another 1 – 2 minutes.

Those bubbles should now be a tempting golden brown.

As each flatbread is cooked, I transfer it to a clean tea towel. This will keep it soft and warm while you cook the remaining circles of dough.

Don’t forget to grease the pan again for each side of each flatbread.

SERVING QUICK FLATBREADS

Soft and pliable when just cooked, the flatbreads are perfect for rolling up with your favourite fillings.

Try them with Baked Falafel, Pea & Mint Baked Falafel, Pinchos Morunos spicy pork kebabs, or Lamb Kofte Kebabs.

Once cool, the flatbreads become firm and are best reheated before use. I think it’s easiest to ping them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Or you could wrap in foil and put in the oven for a few minutes.

But you don’t have to roll them up. Flatbreads make a great base for all sorts of toppings. One of my favourites when I was recipe testing (so good I gave it its own blog post!) was Turkish Eggs with Chickpeas and Flatbread.

Chewy, satisfying bread topped with minty, garlicky yogurt, a runny poached egg plus nutty chickpeas in a cloak of spicy butter was heaven on a plate.

QUICK FLATBREAD PIZZA & FLATBREAD DIPPING CHIPS

Taking the idea of using the flatbreads as a base a step further, I’ve recently become absolutely obsessed with making quick pizzas with these flatbreads.

Back up near the top of this post, you’ll have seen my first one topped with tomato, spring onion and goat’s cheese. Below is my current favourite: garlic mushrooms, truffle oil and sheep’s cheese  😋

All you do to make the ‘pizza’ is brush an already cooked flatbread with olive oil, add your toppings then put in the oven for 5-8 minutes at 200C. [Update: since writing this post, I’ve found that the pizzas work great in an air fryer too].  So good, I think I’m going to have to write a whole blog post about quick flatbread pizzas.

After noticing how crunchy the edges of the ‘pizza’ were, where they’d been brushed with oil but had no topping, I decided to experiment with dipping chips made with the Quick Flatbreads.

This time brushing both sides with olive oil before putting in the oven, they turned out great too. Use them as nachos or with dips like Labneh, Broad Bean Paté, Roasted Beetroot Hummus or Smoked Salmon Paté.

QUICK, EASY FLATBREADS

Once you’re familiar with the method, I reckon these Quick Flatbreads can be made in around 45 minutes.

And that includes the 15-minute dough resting time when you can be prepping whatever goodies you’re going to be eating with them.

That makes them perfect for last minute meals and quick lunches.

But you can successfully freeze the flatbreads too, so make a big batch if you’re often short of time.

I’ve love to hear from those who’ve made my Quick Flatbreads. How do you eat them?

Leave a comment below and don’t forget to rate the recipe!

4.67 from 3 votes

Print

Quick Flatbreads

With no yeast in these easy flatbread, there's no kneading and no waiting for the dough to rise. Just rest the dough for fifteen minutes and you're ready to roll out and cook.

Course Bread

Cuisine Middle Eastern, World

Keyword quick, no yeast bread

Prep Time 14 minutes

Cook Time 16 minutes

Resting the dough 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 flatbreads (other amounts given in Recipe Notes below)

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 180 g plain flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 1 large pinch salt
• 100 ml cold water
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For cooking the flatbreads

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10 g butter can be replaced with more olive oil

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

   Make a well in the middle then pour in the water and olive oil.

   Stir with a rubber spatula to start bringing it together into a dough, then switch to your hands.

   Transfer to a worksurface (you shouldn't need any extra flour) and fold over itself a few times to bring it into a ball.

   Put the dough back into the bowl, cover, and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

2. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each one into a ball.

3. On a very lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a circle 18-19 cm in diameter: try not to add too much flour as this can make the flatbreads hard.

4. If using the butter as well as the olive oil: put both into a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl and heat on the hob or in the microwave until the butter melts.

   If using olive oil only: put into a small dish that fits a pastry brush.

   Set aside.

5. Put a non-stick pan 18-19 in diameter over medium-high heat.

   When it's hot, brush over a generous amount of olive oil/butter.

   While the fat is sizzling, put the first circle of dough into the pan.

   Cook for 1-2 minutes: bubbles should appear on the top surface and underneath should be golden with darker brown patches.

   Note: the first flatbread may not bubble up as much and may take longer than subsequent ones.

6. Using a spatula, lift the flatbread out of the pan and brush the surface of the pan again with olive oil/butter.

   Flip the flatbread back into the pan to cook the other side (1-2 min).

7. When the first flatbread is done, wrap it in a clean tea towel to keep warm and soft.

   Repeat the process with the remaining flatbreads, brushing with olive oil/butter as above.

8. Flatbreads will keep for 2-3 days.

   Reheat in foil in a low oven, or for a few seconds each in a microwave.

   Can be frozen. Defrost then reheat as above.

Recipe Notes

Make as many or as few flatbreads as you like by using this formula for 1 flatbread and multiplying it by however many you want to make: 45 g plain flour + 0.25 level tsp baking powder + small pinch of salt + 25 ml cold water + 0.25 tbsp olive oil.

For 6 flatbreads you'll need: 270g plain flour + 1.5 level tsp baking powder + large pinch salt + 150 ml cold water + 1.5 tbsp olive oil.

For 8 flatbreads you'll need: 360g plain flour + 2 level tsp baking powder + 1 level tsp salt + 200 ml cold water + 2 tbsp olive oil.

RELATED RECIPES