Vegan Flatbread: Zero Waste and Regular

Written by McDonald, T.  |  Updated 26th of January 2022     

Flatbread is easy and quick to make.  No need for proving or resting just straight in the pan and out comes a delicious hot bread that you can eat straight away, or store for later.  Subsequently, you can have it on its own as a snack or as part of your main meal.  You can even make smaller ones to have as tacos.  Furthermore, you can add other ingredients to this bread such as garlic or bell pepper or even sun-dried tomato.  As for storing, I put mine in an airtight container and keep in the fridge and it lasts for up to 4 days.  You have two types to choose from: regular or zero waste. 

Notes

• I am using metric cup and spoon sizes.  Meaning my cup is 136g of flour.  I have found that it is better to weigh out the flour since different people's cups can be very different sizes.; weighing is more accurate.
  

136 x 1.75 = 238g 

• If you want to make wholemeal flatbreads, you can.  Just use 1 cup (136g) self-raising flour and 0.75 cup (102g) of wholemeal flour.  However, this dough will be a lot more sticky.
  

• Hydration is the amount of water in percentage and this recipe is using 60% hydration. The equation below shows how I worked out the amount of water needed.  Please note that I have rounded to the closest integer.  It is also necessary to adjust the hydration in relation to the type of flour.  For instance, strong bread flour will need more water.
  

(Desired Hydration / 100) x Flour (g) = Water Quantity (ml).

238g x (60% / 100) = 143ml (3.s.f). 

• Weigh out the water because some measuring jugs are inaccurate.  

1 ml of water = 1 gram of water.

• Weight out the dough and divide it into equal amounts in weight.
  

 

Makes 4 flatbreads.

Regular 

Ingredients 

• 1 cup (136 g) plan flour (236 g for white bread and omit the wholemeal flour)
• 3/4 cup (102 g) Strong wholemeal bread four (for wholemeal bread)
• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
  
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp of caster sugar. 
• 1/2 tsp of salt.
  
• 143ml of warm water
• Fresh herbs (optional)

Zero waste option

Ingredients 

• 1 cup (136 g) plan flour (236 g for white bread and omit the wholemeal flour)
• 3/4 cup (102 g) Strong wholemeal bread four (for wholemeal bread)
  
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (optional)
  
• 143ml of warm water
• Fresh herbs (optional)
  

Method 

1. Sift the flour into a bowl.

2. Add the oil (salt, sugar and baking powder for regular). 

3. At this point you can decide if you want to add some herbs like fresh basil, fresh coriander or fresh parsley. 

4. Add the water a little at a time and mix with a wooden spoon.

5. Continue combining with your hands and kneed for a minute or two until the ingredients evenly mixed together. 

6. Make a log with it and cut it into four evenly sized pieces.

7. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into thinnish sheets (about 5 mm thick.  It should fit snugly in a 17cm frying pan).

8. Heat the frying pan so it is really hot! 

9. Add the dough to the frying pan and keep flipping the bread until cooked.  About 30 - 45 seconds each side.

10. It should swell up like a balloon, but don't worry if it doesn't.

11. When ready, wrap in a clean fresh tea towel or they may go hard.  Open the tea towel up and add each new bread.  Covering them like this keeps the moisture in keeping the bread flexible.  When you put that last one in the tea towel, If you want them folded, wait a minute and then unwrap them and fold them over and wrap them back up again.  Allow to cool before storing in the fridge in an air tight container. 

White flatbread

White flatbread

White flatbread

Wholemeal flatbread

I hope that you like this recipe.  Please like subscribe and share with your friends.  Peace be with you.