While everyone is on a bit of a homemade bread making kick, I think it’s only fitting to share my favorite recipe for Easy Whole Wheat Mediterranean Flatbread. These are pillow-soft and tender and really delicious. And they make a fabulous accompaniment to dip into soup or stew and are the best wraps for falafel, chicken kebabs, you name it. And the best part, they don’t take much time at all. We’re talking about 45 minutes from start to finish. But trust me, they’ll taste better than any flatbread you can find at the store.
The ingredient list is most likely everything you have on hand right now. Yeast was pretty hard to get for a while but I think that sitch is better now. Hopefully you’ve been able to get your hands on some too. So, we’ve got yeast in here, a blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, some yogurt, a little olive oil, and a dash of salt and sugar. And some warm water helps bring it all together. Once you form this into a dough, which is all done by hand in a bowl (or a table-top mixer if you want,) you knead it for about five minutes then divide it into 10 rounds and let them rest on the counter. (You’ll need some extra flour, as each time I make this I have to add a bit more or a bit less flour to get it to the desired not-so-sticky consistency. The environment and your kitchen temp will determine this, so just have a little extra flour on hand to incorporate as needed, as with any bread dough.)
After the dough has rested, you roll each ball into about 6 or 7-inch rounds. Then you’ll start cooking them in a piping hot skillet for about 2 minutes per side, rolling another piece as the previous one cooks. Storing them in a clean kitchen towel keeps them nice and warm as you finish cooking the rest. Then you can gobble them up right away (it’s hard not to,) or store them in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator once cooled. Or if you want to save them for later and use as needed, separate each flatbread between pieces of parchment paper and place in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag.
These are fun to make and are truly worth the little extra effort it takes to make them versus buying. Not to mention, lighter on the wallet too, which is always a good thing. And if you’ve got the kids home, they’ll enjoy dividing the rounds, shaping and rolling them. You can make it a fun, educational and delicious activity to do together. (Which we certainly can use all the ideas we can get these days.) I hope you’ll give these a try and if you do, please do let me know how it goes in the comments below or tagged on Instagram.
And p.s. Stay tuned, I’ll be sharing a fab recipe at the end of the week that uses these flatbread!
Easy Whole Wheat Mediterranean Flatbread
Pillow-soft and tender and really delicious flatbread. A fabulous accompaniment to dip into soup or stew and the best wraps for falafel, chicken kebabs, you name it. All done in one bowl in no time at all.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsps instant yeast (1 packet)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt ( I prefer low-fat or full fat for this)
- 1 1/2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsps kosher salt
- 2 1/4 cups (270g) whole wheat flour
- 2 cups (256g) all-purpose flour + more as needed
Instructions
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In a large bowl add the yeast, water and sugar. Whisk to combine. Then whisk in the yogurt, olive oil and salt. Then add all the flour and combine with a spatula or your hands to combine. If the dough feels too sticky and wet add more flour a little at a time, until it forms a round. (This can also be done using a table-top mixer fitted with the dough hook.)
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Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface (either flour is fine) and knead for about 5 minutes. Then divide the dough into 10 equal-sized rounds. Cover lightly with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise for about 20-30 minutes. (They should almost double in size.)
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Then when the rounds are ready, heat a lightly oiled cast iron skillet. Working with one dough round at a time, roll each round out either on a floured surface or between two lightly floured pieces of parchment. (I like them about 1/8" -1/4" thick. Then when the first round is ready, carefully transfer it to the hot skillet and let it cook a couple minutes on the first side until it starts to bubble up and has golden brown spots on the bottom. Flip over and cook about 2 minutes more on the second side until its brown in spots. Continue to roll the next round while the first one cooks and so on. (I usally can get 2 flatbreads in the skillet at the same time)
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Once you remove the flatbread from the skillet, transfer to a clean kitchen towel and keep covered while you cook the rest.
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Enjoy warm or once cool keep covered in the refrigerator in a zip-top bag. * To freeze- I like to store in between pieces of parchment in a freezer-safe bag. To re-heat, wrap in foil and place in the oven or thaw slightly and pop in toaster.
Recipe Notes
*These are also great with some chopped herbs like rosemary or thyme added in when you add the flour.
*Make sure your skillet is very hot, so you don’t have to cook them more than a couple minutes per side. They should be super soft and tender on the inside.
