How to Make No-Yeast (Baked) Flatbread
Hi Kneaders!
Oh how I love bread. Truly, I don’t discriminate when it comes to bread….baguettes, naan, sandwich loaf, sourdough boule…you name it. I love it all. But, I know that not everyone has the time or patience for breadmaking. Perhaps you do, but you’re out of yeast (or just realized your yeast is expired – whoops!) Sometimes, you just need a warm hunk of goodness for dunking and you need it like… now. Hurry up, dinner is almost ready!
Here’s a quick, chewy, fluffy, flatbread that’s no-yeast, no-fuss & can be ready in a jiffy. They’re baked so you don’t have to worry about a frying pan and you can totally customize them! I’ve made them plain, with a few dried herbs and olive oil on top and even made it fancy by adding sundried tomatoes and parmesan. They come out delicious no matter what!
What Ingredients Do I Need?
This is an incredibly easy recipe – the flatbreads come out soft and fluffy but also chewy and a little crispy around the edges. They can be customized with any spices and herbs you have on hand. All you need is flour, baking powder, salt, olive oil (or whatever oil you have), sugar, butter, spices and a bit of water. Easy.
There’s no yeast in this recipe! I find recipes like this so helpful because sometimes there’s yeast shortages, sometimes your yeast is expired or sometimes you’ve never used yeast in your life and you still want to make bread! This warm, fluffy, chewy flatbread with minimal ingredients and effort will be your go-to.
There is a tiny bit of kneading involved here but it’s very minimal. You will knead just enough to bring the dough together into a smooth homogenized ball. No need to bust out the stand mixer – you can do this right on your countertop or in a big glass bowl. I tend to use a large shallow glass bowl so I can knead right in the bowl!
These are kid-friendly and camp-fire friendly! They store for a couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can also freeze them and re-heat by wrapping in a damp paper towel and microwaving or wrapping in tinfoil and tossing in the oven at 300F for a few minutes until warmed. They can also be made ahead of time in a large batch to go along with meal prep for the week.
Want to switch up pizza night? Use these flatbreads as your base and load ’em up with toppings!
How to Make No-Yeast (Baked) Flatbread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. kosher salt reduce to 1/2 tsp. if using Himalayan Pink Salt
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 c. filtered water lukewarm, about 110F
- 1/2 tsp. cane sugar coconut sugar works well too
- 1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil for brushing
- spices and/or herbs of choice optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F or approximately 200C.
- Mix your dry ingredients together first (flour, baking powder, salt, spices and sugar).
- Then add your olive oil. You can also use a neutral oil like vegetable, sunflower or avocado if you want. But, I prefer the olive oil because it adds great flavor but it also adds fat to the dough, which helps with the texture!
- Next, slowly incorporate your lukewarm water until it starts to clump together.
- Dump out onto a floured surface – and with floured hands – gently knead until the ball comes together into a nice smooth ball. It should not be sticky at all but ever so slightly tacky. Sticky dough will actually get stuck to your fingers where tacky will feel a bit sticky to the touch but won't leave any residue on your hands. Think of it like the sticky-tacky we used in grade school – it was sticky enough to hold things up but it didn’t leave anything behind on your fingers. Hope that makes sense!
- At this point, let the ball rest for 5-10 minutes.
- After the dough ball has rested, divide it into pieces with a dough scraper or sharp knife. I like big flat breads so I divide into four pieces but feel free to divide into six for smaller flatbreads.
- Lightly flour each individual dough ball and roll out to a rustic oval shape – about ½ inch thickness. I make sure the middle is nice and even but I kinda leave the ends fat – as you can see in the photos.
- Lay them onto a greased baking tray with a good inch between. They will puff up a bit because of the baking powder but they won’t really spread out too much.
- Brush with olive oil or melted butter using a pastry brush.
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes (depending on the size) until the edges are golden and they've puffed up slightly. When they come out, I like to brush them with a little more melted butter or olive oil…for good measure!
- If you are not going to eat these straight from the oven – place them onto a plate and cover them with a damp paper towel. The steam will keep them soft and fluffy – while maintaining their chewy texture.