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Easy soft flatbreads

Quick and puffy flatbreads served with curry

Easy soft flatbreads

Name: Easy soft flatbreads
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Makes 4 large or 6-8 small
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 300g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting; ½ tsp baking powder; 150g natural yogurt; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; melted ghee or butter, for brushing; cumin seeds chopped garlic cloves, chopped coriander or chopped chillies (optional)

Tom Kerridge

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Makes 4 large or 6-8 small

Easy

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 10 mins - 15 mins

A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.83 ratingsRate

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Whip up these speedy, no yeast puffed flatbreads for an Indian-style feast. They're like a cheat’s version of naan bread and are great for mopping up a curry

Egg-free

Nut-free

Vegetarian

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

300g self-raising flour

plus extra for dusting
½ tsp baking powder
150g natural yogurt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
melted ghee

or butter, for brushing
cumin seeds

chopped garlic cloves, chopped coriander or chopped chillies (optional)

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Nutrition: Per serving

kcal328
fat5g
saturates1g
carbs60g
sugars3g
fibre3g
protein9g
salt2.1g

Method

step 1

Combine the flour, baking powder, yogurt and oil with 1 tsp salt and 2 tbsp water, and bring together into a rough dough. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until slightly smooth, then divide into four to eight pieces, depending on the size of flatbread you want.
step 2

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. To make basic flatbreads, roll the dough pieces out on a lightly floured surface into rough ovals, then fry for 1-2 mins on each side until golden and slightly charred in spots. Alternatively, roll the dough pieces out, brush with a little melted ghee or butter, and scatter over the cumin seeds, garlic, coriander or chillies, if you like. Fold each piece of dough over on itself, then roll out again into a rough oval and cook in the same way.
step 3

Brush the flatbreads with a little melted butter or ghee, then serve.

How to make flatbreads without yeast

Making a flatbread without yeast is super easy and saves time as you don’t have to wait hours for the dough to rise.This recipe uses baking powder as a speedy leavening agent that reacts with the natural yogurt to help the dough rise. It requires only a few minutes of kneading into a rough dough, before cooking in a frying pan over a high heat.

Tips for making quick flatbreads

Combining the dough: Mix the dough using your hands to ensure everything is fully combined. Adding the baking powder at the same time as the flour means it will be evenly distributed throughout the mix.
Cooking temperature: Cook the flatbreads over a high temperature to get a golden, slightly charred finish. The dough should bubble up during cooking.
Cooking options: For the quickest results, roll out the dough pieces into rough ovals, then cook for 1-2 minutes. For a more luxurious finish, brush the dough with a little melted ghee or butter, and scatter over cumin seeds, garlic, coriander or chillies, before folding and rolling out the dough again into ovals for cooking.
Storing cooked flatbreads: After cooking each flatbread, stack and keep wrapped in a tea towel – the trapped moisture will help keep them soft and pliable whilst the rest of the flatbreads are cooking.

Can flatbreads be made gluten-free?

You can make flatbreads using gluten-free flour but it will need more liquid. 300g of gluten-free flour will need around 250g of yogurt. It will change the texture slightly as gluten-free flour has a more powdery consistency but won’t change the flavour.

Can flatbreads be frozen?

Freezing flatbreads is easy – stack them and separate each flatbread with sheets of baking parchment so they don’t stick together. It’s important to cover them completely to avoid freezer burn.

To re-heat rolled-out raw flatbreads, put them in a hot frying pan from frozen and fry on each side for 3-4 minutes. If you’ve frozen them cooked, splash them with a little water and put them in the microwave for 30 seconds or in a hot oven for around four minutes to defrost.

What to serve with flatbreads

They can be used like naans or pitta bread – serve with creamy chicken or veggie curries, kebabs and souvlaki. They make the perfect addition to a grazing board with dips like hummus, tzatziki or our avocado & cannellini bean dip.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2021

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A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.83 ratings

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