Homemade Flatbread {Greek Pocketless Pitas with a Simple Tutorial}
Get this recipe for simple and delicious homemade flatbread! With a step-by-step tutorial, it’s easier than you think!
Flatbread is yummy. Soft, fluffy homemade flatbread is even yummier.
If you are wondering why on earth you would ever want to make your own flatbread, I have two words for you: Chicken Gyros.
And wait!
Four more: Big Fat Greek Tacos. And how about? Simple Pita Pizzas.
The truth is, I could bombard you with a hundred more words that sum up why flatbread needs to be part of your life but I won’t (phew!).
Basically, this flatbread is extremely versatile; you could use it in so many different ways and it is really simple to make.
Those of you who have seen or made the soft wrap bread (that I adore) and/or this lovely naan bread (which I also adore) may want to know how this current flatbread differs.
It’s slightly thinner and a bit softer than the naan (so it bends easier) and has a completely different taste than the soft wrap bread (since the soft wrap bread has a potato base).
I think the moral of this story, though, is you can never have too many flatbread recipes in your recipe notebook.
Right? Right.
I included a few simple step-by-step photos of rolling and cooking the flatbread. Once you see it, you’ll realize how easy it is.
I always double or triple this batch, fire up the griddle and cook my heart out so I can freeze these babies to pull out at a moment’s notice.
We really do capitalize on the simple pita pizza thing (throw it under the broiler with all the toppings for a minute or so and you are good to go) as well as rolling up our favorite sandwich fixings for lunch.
Flatbread! It’s a really good thing.
One Year Ago: Hard-Boiled Eggs: A No-Fail Method
Two Years Ago: DIY Dulce de Leche
Three Years Ago: New Momma Take-In Tray
Homemade Flatbread {Greek Pocketless Pitas}
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup warm water, about 100 degrees, warm but not hot to the touch
- ½ cup warm milk, about 100 degrees, warm but not hot to the touch
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (426 g) bread flour, more or less (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl (or bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook), mix the yeast, sugar water, milk, oil, salt and one cup of the flour until well combined.
- Gradually add the remaining flour until a soft dough is formed. It will pull away from the sides of the bowl to form a ball but still be slightly soft to the touch (see the note). Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes until it is soft and smooth.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap; let rise until doubled, about an hour or so.
- Divide the dough into six or eight equal pieces. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and let the dough pieces rest for 10-15 minutes (this helps relax the gluten so they are easier to roll out).
- Working with one piece at a time, on a lightly greased or floured counter, roll the dough about 1/8-inch thick into a large circle, about 7-8 inches in diameter.
- Heat a griddle or skillet to medium heat (I preheat my electric griddle to 300 degrees). When the griddle/skillet is hot, cook the flatbread for 2-3 minutes on the first side until it bubbles and puffs. Flip it over with a pair of tongs and cook on the second side until it is golden and spotty. If the skillet isn’t hot enough, the bread can turn out dry (and won’t bend easily) from being overcooked so look for the right amount of heat that will cook the flatbread in 2-3 minutes max per side.
- Transfer the flatbread to a plate or work surface and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining dough (I can fit two pieces of flatbread on my electric griddle so I roll out two at a time), stacking each warm flatbread on top of the others and covering with the towel.
- The flatbread can be made, cooked, cooled and frozen with great results. It is best served the day it is made but can be reheated gently the day after, if needed.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Jaclyn at Cooking Classy (reduced sugar, oil and salt, used instant yeast and adapted bread flour amounts, as well as adapting the method a bit)
I have made these twice as our bread for lamb/beef gyro meat and they’ve turned out great both times. First I did exactly as written then second time used some white whole wheat flour as your notes suggested. Perfect and so delicious. Thank you so much!
Yum! I am making your baked shrimp with orzo for dinner tonight and can’t decide on a side dish… Should I make this flat bread recipe or your pita recipe? Which do you think is better?
I’d make this one!
Just a note for European cooks like me – a “cup” is about 225 grams and 300 degrees (Fahrenheit) is appx 150c
A cup of water is 8 oz or about 225 grams but a cup of flour is only 5 oz or about 140 grams.
I made these yesterday on a cast iron griddle (lightly greased with cooking spray before each bread) and they were fantastic! My kids and I all loved them! We are vegan, so I used soy milk, and they came out great! Making another batch tomorrow, and doubling it this time! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
P.S. We all used the breads for different purposes. My daughter made hers into a pizza. My other kids ate theirs with hummus. And I used mine to eat with vegan almond feta, dipped in olive oil / lemon juice / oregano.
My dad’s family is from Greece and we love flatbread! We us it for gyros, pizza, and pita pocket sandwhiches. I like making it but I prefer going to a bakery that specializes in it. http://www.klostermanbakery.com/products/flat-bread-thins-and-pita.php
i have just made this for my food technology folio cooking and my teacher loved it. they turned out so great.It’s such an awesome recipe
I use a dry cast iron comal (flat skillet) at about medium heat, and I have never had a problem with these flatbreads sticking!
Hey,
I don’t own a non-stick anything, and was curious if you think I could grease either a cast iron skillet or stainless steel, or use either of them dry?
Thank you so much!
If your cast iron skillet is well-seasoned, it should work just fine.
Hi Mel!
The gyro bread looks so delicious! And I was wondering could it be possible to make it whole wheat?
I’ve used 50% whole wheat and 50% white flour with good results and I think others in the comments have used all whole wheat flour. You could definitely experiment!
I made these yesterday using the 1/4 cup of wheat gluten and 100% white wheat flour. They are awesome! I’m honestly surprised how well they turned out. They were so soft and even today in the fridge they still fold beautifully. I probably didn’t cook them as long as the instructions say. Just thought I’d comment in case anyone wanted to make these 100% whole grain.
Just made this tonight and it was perfect, best flatbread recipe I’ve tried to date.
Mel I have a couple of questions. What do you cook flatbread on a griddle and bake pitas? Also, why do you have flatbread rise and not the pita?
Thank you.
Joy – I am not entirely sure what you are asking, but the flatbread and pitas are different recipes so they have different cooking methods. Good luck if you try them!
I’m making this no and using active dry yeast. I already added the dry yeast with the water it called for On the yeast container. Do I still add the amount of water you call for on top of the yeast mix?
I’m not sure how much water you added at the beginning to proof the yeast. If it’s only a tablespoon or two then yes, you could use the amount of water in the recipe. Any more than that and you may want to cut down the water from the recipe list.
I know this is a late comment as the recipe was posted a year ago, but I had to say that I made these for dinner and they turned out beautifully. I have attempted to make flatbreads of various kinds over the years; they can be a bit tricky.
The tutorial was immensely helpful! Thank you.
Yeast breads also have their quirks. So much time and effort goes into bread making, it can be quite frustrating when things don’t turn out right. This tutorial was really useful in making sure that I was doing everything right! I totally printed it out and am keeping it forever! My flatbreads were gorgeous on the first try thanks to such great advice.
Cheers!
So, I have cake flour and ap flour. I have no way to get to the store to by bread flour right now but I desperately need these bad boys in ma tummy. Lol Which would be better to use? I am horrible at baking!
Try the all-purpose flour. I wouldn’t recommend using the cake flour in this recipe.
So, I totally misread this recipe and skipped the step to let the dough rise for an hour. 🙂 The rest of the dinner was ready to go except the pitas, so I figured I would cook one up and just see if it was edible. I was amazed that these were still fantastic despite my mistake!! Super soft, flavorful, tender…I’m sure they would be even better if I actually followed the directions, but I was really happy. 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe and I promise to try again and compare with the ‘real’ version!
Easy and perfect! I have used this recipe many times now and it has worked perfectly every time. Nice and soft and they keep forever in the fridge and reheat well. Next time I’m going to try a double batch and see how they freeze.
A friend & I had a cooking day where we made beef & chicken gyros and a bunch of sauces. I realized I didn’t have a flat bread recipe and found this on Pinterest. Oh. Mah. Gawd. Totally amazing. So fast & easy! Definitely making these again. And again…
I have made these twice now and they are DELICIOUS. The first time I made them I pan seared them, added some crushed garlic, cilantro, and butter to the tops and oven roasted them for a minute to make a garlic naan. Tonight I made them just for gyros and they were wonderful. Not the dry, flaky pitas that you buy in the store. Thank you for this amazing recipe! Moist, pliable, AWESOME.
Hi Mel,
This recipe looks great! I’m just wondering whether I could just add everything to my bread machine on the ‘dough’ setting so that it mixes, kneads and rises for me?
Any thoughts on whether this would work?
Thanks,
Gem
I don’t have a bread machine so I’m not exactly sure – it stands a good chance of working as long as the ingredient amounts fit into the size of bread machine you have.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made these flatbreads many times in the past few months and my family is hooked. I cannot wait to try more of your bread recipes.
I would like to know the best way to freeze these as I live alone. Do they need separated by parchment if stacked, wrapped single, just placed in a zip lock? I just don’t wan tthem all stuck together as I would want to pull out one or two as needed. Thanks for any suggestions.
Once they are cooled, after baking, I stack them and put them in a freezer ziploc bag.
These are great! My bread making in high altitudes has been horrendous! I added gluten and followed the advice to use discretion when adding flour and viola! GREAT flatbread.
I made this tonight and couldn’t believe how amazing they turned out! So soft and tasty. Thanks for the great recipe!
Every time I try making a really flat bread type pizza it always rises to much so the Flatbread isn’t hard. Is there a recipe I can use to make it hard and flat had an Appetizer at a restaurant the other night it was a flat bread about 8 inches long and 4 wide, had sauce, chopped meatballs, mozzarella and ricotta cheese and would like to make it at home, any ideas? Thanks
Hi Hugo – are you looking for a cracker-type flatbread? My guess is those recipes probably don’t use yeast. You might try searching for “cracker flatbread recipe for appetizer” or something like that. Good luck!
This recipe just saved my dinner tonight! I’m in Buffalo, NY and currently burried under 6′ of snow! We have limited bread and wanted yummy wraps, so I googled and stumbled upon your blog. I doubled the recipe and had delicious pulled chicken flatbread wraps for dinner. Thank you!!!!
hey Mel I was wondering if I could make the dough and leave it in the fridge for a couple days if the flat bread would still turn out
I haven’t tried that, Jayme but usually yeast dough does quite well refrigerated (it might taste slightly yeastier after a few days) as long as it comes to room temp before rolling/baking.
Has anyone tried putting the dough in the fridge yet? At what point do you think it would be best to refrigerate – before or after the 1 hour rise? I would love to make these for my fiance’s birthday, but I don’t know that I will have time to do everything in one go. Thanks!!
I haven’t tried refrigerating the dough, Jen, but I wonder if you could roll them out, stack them between sheets of parchment (they might stick to wax paper), refrigerate and then cook as needed?
Why do you need the milk? Will it work without milk? Milk substitutes? Thanks!
The milk helps the flatbread be tender and soft. You could try it with all water but I haven’t tried it that way.
Made these last night for gyros. Fast, easy, perfect. Had one today with hummus, still soft and not dried out. Thank you, this is going to be my go to recipe for pita.
Hey if you can’t make them round you are likely to not get a good husband.:)
This is our subculture/Victorian rant for you.
Well, that is what my Grandmother told my mother.
I am a guy, and my mother told me the same thing, when I left for college , except for the husband. She said I will get constipated (my most feared ailment). Heck I don’t have the time to make them anymore. I bake two loaves and I am good for a few days.
I tried your recipe and by God I will be using it again. It is like two styles combining; perfect.
Thanks
I agree. These are fabulous as written. I have “evolved” to including whole wheat flour and flax seed (1 C AP flour, 1-3/4 C Whole Wheat Flour, 1/4 C Vital Wheat Gluten, and 1 T ground flax seed with all the other ingredients and methods of preparation the same.) The mouth feel is great–light and fluffy, but a little bit chewy at the same time. I just ate a “second-day-old” one as a sandwich with egg whites and veggies inside, and it was just as good as the rest of the batch made yesterday. I have no doubt they will keep in the refrigerator for several days without any deterioration. Thanks for this recipe. It’s a keeper!
These are fabulous, I have made them three times a month since you posted them, and I froze the extras. Great to pull out of the freezer for a quick meal like pizza’s, gyros or as a side bread with a stew. Absolutely delicious, and now I have my friends making them too! Never buying flat bread again…. ever!
These turned out great. Clear and easy to follow directions. No more store bought flat breads for me. Thanks a lot Mel.
Thank you for this recipe. My favorite restaurant is in Jackson, Mississippi…Keifer’s Greek Restaurant. They serve wraps on soft flatbread. I have looked high and low for this recipe. I live in Atlanta, Georgia and only get to go to Keifer’s twice a year when I visit family. I am so excited to finally make my own flatbread. I made the recipe today for the first time. I had a wonderful sandwich with homemade falafel! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂
I recently saw a commercial from Panera Bread for their flatbread sandwiches and they looked really yummy. I then thought, “Why don’t I try to make flatbread?”
I looked up recipes, and yours, by and far, looked the easiest, especially with the photos.
I have been making yeast breads for over 35 years, so I am not a novice, and reading your recipes(s) is like having a good and patient friend explaining the hows and whys.
So, I made a batch and they were beyond terrific. My husband kept telling me that the flatbread was better than any flatbread he had EVER eaten in any Mediterranean restaurant!
So, a few days later I made a double batch and froze what was remaining.
Your recipes are the best I have seen in years. We are both retired and enjoy cooking from scratch, both for the nutritional value and to save money.
I am thrilled to have discovered your website.
Hi Judith! I’m so happy you loved this recipe; I just made them yesterday and froze a batch, too. Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know!
Hey, and thanks for the recipe. These turned out nicely but i have a question. I had a few of them to puff up like pocket pita, and i’m not 100% sure why. I made six total, had 3 cast iron skillets and 1 cast iron griddle on 4 burners to speed things up. Heat was the same on all burners. Instructions were great and execution went through swimmingly. They smell good, but i’m waiting for dinner to try them (with thin sliced lamb merguez, tzatziki, tomato, and red onion). I’m glad a got a few pita out of the mix, because it was another thing i wanted to learn to make at some point, but the problem is i’m not exactly sure how i did it. It would be good to know how to bring on the puffing when desirable, or how to prevent it when wanting a pocketless flat bread. Have you encountered this while making them at all? Thanks!
Chris
Mel, these are unreal! My husband just caught me rubbing one on my face, they are so soft. Is that weird?? 🙂 I wanted to tell you that they worked beautifully with almond milk in case any vegans find this recipe. I am now completely spoiled, pita-wise. THX!
My problem is I can’t make them soft enough to fold over without cracking. I made my fifth try at it today. The last couple weeks I have been trying to make flat bread like the flat bread in Taco Bell’s Chalupas. I get some that at least on one side look about the same but the fact they crack and break when folded, is discouraging. I wish I knew the secret. This recipe came the closest to working but still not soft enough to fold over. I’m open to any suggestions. Wayne (85 year young)
Hi Wayne – that is discouraging! Sorry that is happening. Sounds to me like you may need to cook them for less time. That is one of the main reasons they end up cracking while folding – overcooking dries them out. Try increasing the temp of your skillet or griddle just slightly and undercooking them slightly, if needed, in order for them to stay soft. Good luck!
Hey Wayne, one thing you could try is brushing a small amount of water on them right before you’re wanting them to be foldable, and microwaving them for 15 or so seconds, just long enough for the water to steam the flatbread.
That’s a good question, Chris. I’m not entirely sure to be honest. I have another recipe on here for pita pocket bread but even then, sometimes it’s hit or miss whether they will puff into a pocket or not. I think it may have something to do with the soft side of the bread hitting the very hot skillet.
Hi Wayne,
Is it possible that you are adding too much flour when you make your dough and/or when you are rolling it out? I think this dough needs to be well hydrated and even a little sticky to the touch for it to remain soft and pliable when cooked. (Also, don’t over-cook the breads–a light golden brown spotting is what I look for.)
I googled this recipe and came across your site. Now I have a new foodie crush and by the tingling in my butt and legs, I have been sitting here waaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than I expected. Just sayin. Thanks for a great recipe, I’ll be making this right now if I can tear myself away from your site. Have a great weekend
I wanted to try a pear/blue cheese/red onion flatbread recipe I saw. It called for store bought flatbread but I didn’t want to go to the store. I found this recipe and a couple hours later I had a tasty meal! Super easy to make, I rolled mine very thin so when I baked it with the toppings it was nice and crispy. Thanks for the great recipe!
Just made these and will have them with chicken souvlaki and tzatziki sauce! Yummy! So easy to make. I have been searching for the right recipe and am so glad I found this. Thanks for posting the recipe!
These pitas were delicious! Very easy to make. Doubled the recipe and it made exactly 16.
None of the stores in our town carry these fluffy pitas. This is the second recipe i have tried. Who knew pita recipes could vary so?
i think I’ll make some right now!
I guess these are “flatbreads”
I used all purpose flour- King Arthur- and they were perfect
I used these with alton brown’s recipe for gyros. 1/2 lamb &1/2 ground beef. Soooo good.
gosh, the recipe is amazing! the measurements were right on point and your extensive notes really helpful. it was so easy and quick to make, i couldn’t believe it. and the taste! they’re best right out of skillet, but i’ve also frozen one, just to see how it will work out. i’m excited to try replacing some of the bread flour with whole wheat. thaaank you for sharing this! 🙂
Hi Mel, I want to make your Big Fat Greek Tacos this week and I’m trying to decide which bread I should make to go with them. What’s your favorite for this meal, the soft wrap bread or this flatbread? Thanks!
Melanie – I love them both but if I had to choose I’d say the flat bread.
I just got done making these in my cast iron skillet. They are delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Can you use all purpose flour instead of bread flour??
Lori – You probably could; the bread might not be quite as chewy. If you have gluten flour (also called vital wheat gluten), I’d add a couple tablespoons of that with the all-purpose flour.
Hi Mel, Would you be able to tell me the weight in grams of 2 tsp of yeast, I never use dry yeast , I prefer using fresh. I cannot wait to try this recipe, I love to make any type of yeast bread but never tried flat bread. Thanks so much!!
Aneta – Quite honestly, I don’t know, since I use the teaspoon measurement. You might be able to google the answer. Good luck!
hey nice recipe I hope it is compete able with subway’s flatbread looks really good 😀
Hello Mel just wanted to say thanks for the flatbread recipe,there was a flatbread sandwich that i seen on the web that looked really good, so i decided to make it using your recipe for flatbread, grilled chicken, guacamole,thin sliced smoked ham, pepper jack cheese, all i can say is WOW, my wife loved it as did i, this will definitely go in my keeper recipes. Thanks Gunner (:
I loved these! Exactly what I was looking for. I made 8 and used 4 of them for pizzas. What’s the best way to freeze the rest?
Falon Bentley – I let them cool, stack them and put them in a freezer ziploc bag. Works great – then I just defrost as needed in the microwave (careful not too high of a temp or they get tough) or let them thaw on the counter.