Easy Soft Flatbread Recipe (No Yeast) (2024)

FAQs

How do you make bread rise without yeast? ›

You can substitute yeast with equal parts lemon juice and baking soda. So if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of yeast, you can use half a teaspoon of lemon juice and half a teaspoon of baking soda. Keep in mind that the bread will not need the typical proofing time and the dough will begin rising right away.

Unleavened bread, or bread without yeast, is a typical Jewish food, the name derives from the Greek azymos (without yeast) which in Jewish becomes mazzah, and it is the symbol of the Passover that recalls the Exodus from Egypt: it was the bread of the fugitives because it was quickly prepared by the fleeing Jews.

Flat breads are made throughout most of the world. Examples are pita (from the Middle East), chapati and naan (India), tortilla (Mexico) and focaccia (Italy).

Why is my flatbread dry? Your flatbread may have dried out during the proofing process or even during cooking. Keeping the dough soft and moist at all stages is key. That is why the dough should always be covered while it rises and proofs.

If you want to successfully substitute the yeast called for in a recipe, you just need to swap in the right amount of baking soda and acid to make the dough rise. You can use lemon juice, buttermilk, or milk combined with an equal part of vinegar as your acid. Add all the ingredients according to the recipe.

Flatbread dough does not use yeast and does not require extra time to rise. Normal pizza dough uses yeast and creates a thicker, more chewy dough.

Unleavened flatbreads include matzo, lavash, roti, tortillas and many others. Grains other than wheat can be used to make corn tortillas and flatbreads with many other grains. We make unleavened flour tortillas here at our house periodically.

Due to their geometry and structure, tortillas, pizza crust, English muffins, crumpets, and pretzels can be considered flat breads. Tortillas are flat breads traditionally made from wheat flour or maize and are indigenous to Mexico, Central America, and the southwestern United States.

A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread.

How are flatbreads traditionally made? ›

The bread would most likely have been made from a simple paste of ground cereal mixed with water, cooked over the coals. Many flatbreads are still made using this simple technique, while others now include the addition of yeast or salt.

Over-kneading has a tendency to result in chewy bread. Here's how to tell if you've kneaded enough. Another possibility—you used bread flour when all-purpose flour would do. If a recipe with bread flour turned out chewier than you like, try it with all-purpose and knead only as much as the recipe directs.

That's because the puff is steam-powered. For it to work, the dough must be neither too thick nor too thin, and be sufficiently hydrated so that the blast of heat from the oven quickly turns the moisture to steam that inflates the bread. One of the best ways to get this right is a kitchen scale.

Instead of using yeast to make the bread rise, quick breads rely on other leavening agents like baking soda and baking powder to get height. "Quick breads, like banana bread, zucchini bread, and cornbread are delicious and easy alternatives to yeast-based bread and can satisfy cravings in a pinch," says Tyler Lee.

A Bowl of Steaming Water is the Key to Quickly Proofing Bread. In the winter, when your house and kitchen are at a crisp temperature and you need a warm spot for your dough to rise, create a makeshift “proof box” by placing a bowl of steaming water inside your oven alongside your bowl of dough.

To fix dough that won't rise, try placing the dough on the lowest rack in your oven along with a baking pan filled with boiling water. Close the oven door and let the dough rise. Increasing the temperature and moisture can help activate the yeast in the dough so it rises. You can also try adding more yeast.

But almost as good as a proofing box is taking a Mason jar filled halfway up with water, microwaving it for two minutes, then putting your bowl of dough into the microwave with the jar to rise. The other thing you can do is place your lidded container or bowl of dough into a second, larger bowl of warm water.