Greek Flatbread Recipe is a round flatbread dough recipe which is made from flour, water and yeast. Flatbread is very popular and widely used in the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia and other Mediterranean countries.
In each countries, they have their version of flatbread, and they use it for their sandwiches such as shawarma, falafel or gyrus. Furthermore, they also use for dipping sauces such as hummus or baba ganoush.
To be honest, the flatbread or pita bread are basically the same in most countries since they mostly use similar ingredients. The only difference is some of them use butter, yogurt, milk or water. Also, my recipe is leavened bread since I am using yeast as one of the ingredients. If you don't use yeast, you will be producing an unleavened bread such as tortilla.
In this post, I will be showing you how to make my version of Greek Flatbread Recipe.
Recipe Ingredients of Greek Flatbread
The ingredient of this flatbread dough recipe is very similar like any other breads. Here are the list of ingredients below:
- All Purpose Flour- If you want to add whole wheat flour, you can make it 50% whole wheat and 50% All purpose flour
- Water-
- Milk- To have a nice flavor, I add 50% milk and 50% water.
- Salt- I am using iodized salt for giving taste of the bread. DO NOT use sea salt or add too much salt because this slow down the growth of the yeast.
- Sugar- This can give a sweetness of the bread.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- This will give a soft and smooth texture of the bread. When I am kneading the bread, this will help prevent sticking on my hand.
- Instant Dry Yeast- Because I am making a leavened bread, this raising agent will help grow the dough. You need to mix this milk or water before putting into the flour. Do not mix the with hot water since it can kill the yeast.
What is the difference between Leavened and Unleavened Flatbread?
My Greek flatbread dough recipe is leavened bread which mean that I am using a raising agent like yeast to help grow my dough. Usually, you need to wait for 1 to 2 hours for the dough to grow before you can start baking or cooking the bread. This is very similar like naan, pita bread or arabic kuboos since they all use yeast.
On the other hand, unleavened bread are those bread that do not use yeast. They do not cause the dough to grow and you can cook it right away. Example of unleavened bread includes Tortilla or Chapati.
Flatbread recipe FAQS
After you cooked these delicious Greek flatbread recipe using the oven or the skillet (My preferred cooking method), you will be storing them in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer. This easy flatbread dough recipe can last in the freezer for up to 1 month. This is more convenient if you want to use them for other days.
When reheating a homemade flatbread, I put in the skillet/pan or directly in the fire gas stove. There is no specific time duration when reheating this leavened bread. You just have to make sure you remove it right away when it becomes warm and soft.
If you want to reheat them using a microwave, make sure you adjust the intensity in low power or 160 C / 320 F for less than a minute. This will help prevent making the dough hard or crispy which I am sure you don't want this to happen in your bread.
If you notice your flatbread taste so chewy, there are two possible reason:
First, the dough is probably too thick, which is common if you add too much flour. And second, if you are using instant dry yeast and this suddenly happened, it means this yeast is not growing. In my experience, if you mix the instant dry yeast with boiling water or your dough is too salty, it will weaken the growth of this yeast, which will not cause the flatbread dough to grow.
Note: the yeast is important ingredient that will help make the dough soft and fluffy.
You can use flatbread for sandwiches such as shawarma, falafel, gyrus, and shish tawook. Also, dipping sauce can be eaten with this such as hummus, curry sauce, or baba ganoush.
In the Middle East and some Mediterranean cuisines, we love using this bread when picking up meats, scrambled egg, and other solid foods to eat. For example, I made a sauteed chicken liver, and we love eating this dish with this bread. Other delicious Middle Eastern and Asian dishes you can eat with my Greek Flatbread include Makdous or Butter Chicken.
Step by Step Instructions
Making a Greek flatbread dough recipe is easier than I thought. Firstly, mix the yeast with the water and the milk. After that, add the yeast mixture together with the flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil. Mix and Knead the dough. Add more flour if it's too sticky or adds more water if it has too much flour.
While kneading and mixing the flour, add a tablespoon of olive oil so it can have a smooth texture and it can further prevent sticking from your hand. Cover it and leave it for 1 to 2 hours. After that, remove the dough and roll into a long cylindrical shape, and use a knife to divide them into 8 to 10 balls.
On each ball, roll the dough into a circle shape using a rolling pin. Later, prepare a skillet or pan in low medium heat and rub them with a bit of olive oil or butter. Once it is hot, put the dough into the pan. Heat it for 30 to 45 seconds or until it starts to puff up. Flip it and repeat the process. You will expect to see the flatbread a few brown spots which are expected when it is cooked.
If you like to know to more, here is the full instruction of Greek Flatbread Recipe.
Greek Flatbread Recipe
Greek Flatbread is round flatbread recipe which is mix with water, yeast, milk, olive oil and flour. It is perfect for sandwiches and dipping sauces.
Ingredients
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour or any white flour
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup Additional water (Optional)
- 2 tablspoon Extra Virgin Olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Yeast
- 1 cup Flour (For rolling the dough)
Instructions
- Add the milk, ½ cup of water and yeast in a large cup. Mix it together
- In a separate large bowl, add the flour, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and sugar.
- Add the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients. Use your hand to mix it together. Later, add additional ¼ cup of water to help mix and knead the dough. Keep kneading until the dough become soft and smooth. By that time, the dough will not stick to your hand.
- Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Knead again for 30 seconds. This will give a very fluffy and smooth dough.
- Cover the dough with plastic and then a round plate. Leave it for 1 to 2 hours
- Once the dough grow, transfer into a clean and empty table. Make sure the table is dry and add few drops of flour to prevent the dough sticking to it.
- Use your hand to roll the dough into a long cylindrical shape. Use a knife to divide into 8 to 10 pieces. Shape each pieces into a ball.
- Add few drops of flour on the table before rolling each pieces of ball. Stroke the ball gently using the rolling pin to help make a nice circle flatbread.
- In a skillet or pan, turn on the fire on low or medium-low heat. Put the flatbread in the pan, and let it heat for 30 to 45 seconds or until it start to puff up.
- Once it started to puff up, flip it and heat that side for 30 to 45 seconds
- Transfer each flatbread into a plate. Cover it with warm towel to make sure bread remains warm and soft. Repeat the process of the rest of the flatbread.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 266Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 1mgSodium 115mgCarbohydrates 50gFiber 2gSugar 1gProtein 7g
I need more bread recipes, good flatbread is hard to fine here!
Great recipe! I had no idea about the difference between leavened and unleavened flat bread. Love learning new things!
Thanks Amy. I am glad you find this recipe informative.
I made these tonight, with stone ground whole wheat flour and they were excellent. The best flatbread recipe I've found yet. I omitted the extra water and the sugar. Can't say I would change a thing.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I appreciate that you like my flatbread recipe. Cheers.
This Flatbread Recipe looks really tasty! I've been thinking of making flatbread at home and this is really a great chance to do so.
They are perfect for making sandwiches such as falafel or shawarma. They also fit well for dipping sauces such as hummus.
I love making homemade flatbread. So much faster than traditional bread:) This looks like it would go great with some hummus
I didn't know that you have to be so careful with the salt when making a flatbread like this. I will look into making it with gluten-free flour, for sure!
It is alright to use salt but not sea salt. They are very salty and this will weaken effect of the yeast which will slow the growth of the dough of the flatbread 🙂
I will try this with my gluten-free flour that works 1:1 compared with regular flour. Flatbread is so versatile and I like it in the summer when I want to eat a bit lighter.
Oh wow that is easy to make! It must taste delicious, nothing beats homemade.
Love a good flatbread recipe. This sounds great. Can't wait to try it. Thanks.
Oh I love a good flatbread! It's such a great vessel for everything - savory or sweet! These look delicious!
I make a variety of flatbreads, I have to try this soon. Greek flatbread looks so easy to make and homemade bread is always healthy 🙂
Isn't it great that the world has so many types of bread. Greek Flatbread is one of my all time favorites.
I have never made flatbread but this looks pretty easy. Def want to try!
I've always wanted to get a good recipe for flatbread. Thanks so much for sharing yours!
No problem. I am glad you like the recipe.
This is an easy recipe and it will go great with hummus.
I love making flatbread from scratch. This greek flatbread looks great.
Do you really need a tablespoon of yeast? It seems a lot.
Rosie, you can instead add two teaspoon of instant yeast if 1 tablespoon is too much.