A soft and pillowy flatbread, substantial enough to hold an array of fillings for sandwiches, wraps, toasted flatbread chips, pizza, and more!!
This Easy Flatbread is the culmination of many food dreams. Generally speaking, I really enjoy bread and sandwiches. And when I am making a sandwich, I enjoy a variety of freshly baked food vessels, including hearty rye bread, english muffins, dinner rolls, hamburger buns, and sub rolls.
Strangely, I don’t usually opt for a wrap. I mean, when a well-filled wrap is cut in half, you initially get to taste all of that delicious filling. But then, as you get closer to the wrap’s end it somehow gets all wrapped up on itself. I find there’s usually too much of the remaining layers of tortilla on both ends and simply not enough filling to balance it out. Two huge exceptions are fajitas and burritos. Flour tortillas are exceptional vessels for both.
Do you experience this phenomenon? I just think the ratio to filling should be balanced properly. And it seems that tortillas are usually too thin to carry the weight of a hand-held wrap packed with incredible fillings. Either it gets to soggy in places, there’s too much of it wrapped up on the ends, or it just isn’t strong enough to hold the filling and breaks through.
Do you know what I mean? Have you ever experienced any of these things? Or am I the anomaly? I think I may want to know; but at the same time, nobody likes to hear how weird they are.
Enter this Easy Flatbread. It’s substantial enough to be called bread, but it’s flatter and cooked very much like a flour tortilla. Hence, the flat bread name. There are differences though, in that flatbread is generally thicker than a flour tortilla. They can be made in a variety of thicknesses and sizes, depending on the intended use.
According to American Flatbread, flatbreads were baked on heated rocks as many as 5,000 years ago. The ingredients vary across the globe, from region and country, depending on what was available and cultural preferences, of course. But the primary concept includes combining milled grains and water to create a dough and baking it.
There are two main types of flatbread. One is unleavened, meaning it doesn’t contain any yeast. The dough is rolled out flat and cooked on a hot stone or pan or baked in a brick oven. This includes flour tortillas, crackers, naan, piadina, pita bread, and more. The other type of flatbread contains yeast like naan, pita bread, focaccia, or naked pizza crust.
But just like this Easy Flatbread, naan and pita bread use different ingredients. For instance, pita bread typically contains flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil; while naan usually contains flour, yeast, eggs, butter, and yogurt. Flatbread can be baked in an oven like pita bread and pizza or on the stove like naan, english muffins, and tortillas.
Regardless of how it’s cooked, I love eating it! The one thing that prevents me from buying flatbread commercially is the amount of salt and oil used to prepare it. While I do use oil sparingly on occasions where I feel a recipe truly benefits from it, I find that the majority of oil can be reduced or omitted. I’m delighted to report that this Easy Flatbread recipe only recommends one tablespoon of vegan butter or oil. And that’s not a hard and fast requirement. It’s only a recommendation.
Everyone has their preferences. No surprise here. For this reason, I do not typically add salt at all. If you prefer the flavor of salt in your bread and don’t have dietary restrictions, feel free to add the salt. While salt does improve the flavor somewhat, it’s usually added to preserve the bread and prevent premature molding. This is why I typically make my Easy Flatbread the day I want to enjoy it and store any remaining flatbread in the refrigerator or freezer.
Plus, the aroma wafting through the kitchen and house as this Easy Flatbread cooks is just like baking bread in the oven. There’s something about the smell of fresh bread that just makes me smile. It’s also much less expensive to prepare and cook flatbread at home. This makes me smile, too.
As I mentioned previously, flatbread can be made using a variety of flour. I prefer using a combination of white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour and unbleached all-purpose flour. It provides nutrition while enhancing the dough composition, resulting in a soft yet substantial Flatbread that tastes incredible.
Like regular bread and rolls, I prefer to use yeast. I think I like the flavor more, but I don’t really know if that’s the reason or not. I also like combining plant milk with the flour instead of water. I think it results in a more flavorful flatbread. Oh, and I use my stand mixer to knead the dough – though you can easily knead the dough by hand on your counter for a few minutes if you don’t have a stand mixer or don’t feel like hefting it onto your counter. I’m just a little lazy and have used my stand mixer to knead bread dough for years.
I really like that this is a soft and Easy Flatbread recipe; though it does take one or two hands-off hours since there is rising time involved. How much time it actually takes is dependent on the temperature where the dough rises. If your kitchen is warm, it may only take an hour to rise. If your kitchen is chilly, it may take as much as two hours. The key is to let the dough do its thing. This rising process conditions the dough and yields a softer product. So whatever you do, don’t rush it.
Much like flour tortillas, I cook my Easy Flatbread on the stove in a dry seasoned cast iron skillet. If I’m being honest, it’s actually not a skillet per se, but the lid to my dutch oven – it’s perfect for cooking tortillas and Flatbread. You can also use a non-stick skillet. Simply keep an eye on the heat level to ensure little bubbles dance across the dough before the dough dries out too much.
So now you have to tell me how you will use your Easy Flatbread?? Will you pack it full with flavorful fillings to make a tasty flatbread sandwich? I may or may not know that my Roasted Harissa Chickpeas are awesome in this!! (check out this photo!) Or will you leave it flat and top it with some hummus and veggies to make a Mediterranean Salad Pizza? You know, you can also divide it into sections and make toasted bread chips for dipping into hummus and dips?
The options are endless!! And I’d love to hear all about your Easy Flatbread adventures!
I hope you enjoy this Easy Flatbread as much as I do.
I’m just starting out and would love to see your results. Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Enjoy!!
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Ingredients
- 1¾ cups flour*
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 Tbsp softened vegan butter** (optional)
- ¾ cup warm plant milk
- ½ tsp salt*** (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the flour and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Using the dough hook, add in the remaining ingredients and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. The dough should start pulling away from the side of the bowl. Continue mixing or kneading the dough on low speed for 4-5 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a heavy clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow dough to rest for 1-2 hours, until doubled.
- Remove the dough and divide evenly into 6 pieces and shape each into a round ball. Place each ball back into the bowl or cover with plastic wrap or damp towel; and allow the dough to rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat a heavy skillet on medium-low heat (I use a 2-3 setting on my gas stove).
- Dust a silicon mat or parchment paper with a little flour. Place a dough ball in the center and roll out thin with a rolling pin, to desired size and thickness, about 7 inches in diameter.
- Carefully pick up the dough and place it on the preheated skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness and heat. You may need to turn your flatbread over a couple of times to prevent it from scorching or burning. Increase your heat if they aren’t cooking quickly enough and reduce the heat if they’re cooking too quickly.
- Place in a clean kitchen towel. Cover and repeat with the remaining dough balls, placing each in a stack under the kitchen towel. This will ensure the warm steam keeps the flatbread nice and soft.
- Store on the counter in an air-tight container or plastic bag once completely cool, up to 3 days.
Notes
* I like using King Arthur white whole wheat flour. You can also get really great results by using a combination of whole wheat and white flours. Feel free to use your favorite flour or flour blend.
** You can use a neutral oil in leu of the vegan butter. You can also omit the butter or oil altogether. I normally do not include oil or butter in my bread, but it does lend to a more flavorful and softer dough and finished flatbread.
*** I do not use salt, but many prefer their bread with salt, so it remains an option.
These Easy Flatbreads are best served fresh but will store in an air-tight bag or container for 2-3 days. They also freeze well. Just wrap well and use within one month for best results.
Easy Flatbread
Equipment
- stand mixer
- stovetop
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups flour*
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 Tbsp softened vegan butter** optional
- ¾ cup warm plant milk
- ½ tsp salt*** optional
Instructions
- Combine the flour and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Using the dough hook, add in the remaining ingredients and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. The dough should start pulling away from the side of the bowl. Continue mixing or kneading the dough on low speed for 4-5 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a heavy clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow dough to rest for 1-2 hours, until doubled.
- Remove the dough and divide evenly into 6 to 8 pieces and shape each into a round ball. Place each ball back into the bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat a heavy skillet on medium-low heat (I use a 2-3 setting on my gas stove).
- Dust a silicon mat or parchment paper with a little flour. Place a dough ball in the center and roll out thin with a rolling pin, to desired size and thickness, about 6-8 inches in diameter, depending on your preference.
- Carefully pick up the dough and place it on the preheated skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness and heat. You may need to turn your flatbread over a couple of times to prevent it from scorching or burning. Increase your heat if they aren’t cooking quickly enough and reduce the heat if they’re cooking too quickly.
- Place in a clean kitchen towel. Cover and repeat with the remaining dough balls, placing each in a stack under the kitchen towel. This will ensure the warm steam keeps the flatbread nice and soft.
- Store on the counter in an air-tight container or plastic bag once completely cool, up to 3 days.