This easy whole wheat flatbread recipe really takes me back to my roots as a recipe developer. In my early days as a blogger, I was developing a lot of recipes to use whole wheat flour as a part of my journey towards eating whole foods.
My whole foods journey is an ongoing process. I’m easier on myself now than I once was. However, I still find that I feel better when I make baked goods with whole wheat vs processed flour.
This fall I made this recipe many times as a replacement for my whole what naan recipe because white whole wheat flour has become impossible to find in my area. It is a faster and easier recipe because it is not leavened with yeast, but instead with baking powder.
Ways to use Whole Wheat Flatbread
Primarily, I serve these flabreads with curry to sop up all the delicious gravy. They are equally good with soups and stews.
You could also use these to make simple flatbread style pizzas. After cooking the flatbreads, simply top with your favorite toppings (like tomatoes and garlic) and a sprinkle of cheese, then bake or broil until the cheese is melted.
The whole wheat in these flatbreads makes them sturdy, so even through they have a soft and fluffy interior texture, they do not bend well so I cannot recommend turning them into sandwiches (unless they are open faced!).
How to Make Easy Whole Wheat Flatbread
Mix together all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and then the wet ingredients in another, using only 1/2 cup of water at first. Mix the wet into the dry, adding more water as necessary. Adding a water in two batches helps the dough to come together more easily. I have made it both ways and for whatever reason two additions is better than one!
The sugar can be omited, but the flavor of the bread is really better with it. You can substitute honey by mixing it into the wet ingredients instead of the dry.
Knead until smooth then let the dough rest 10 minutes so the whole wheat flour soaks up moisture and gets easier to work with.
Next, cut the dough into pieces and roll it out. No need to make perfect circles, they should each be unique!
Cook the flatbreads in a skillet with a small amount of oil and stack them on a plate covered with a kitchen towel to steam and stay soft. If they oversteam they will get soggy. The kitchen towel can breath so it is a much better option than covering the flatbreads with foil or plastic wrap.
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 TBS olive oil
- ¾ cold water, divided
- 1 TBS canola oil for frying
- Combine the flours, baking power, salt and sugar, whisking until well blended.
- Pour the olive oil and ½ cup water into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
- Kneed 5-10 times or until the dough is smooth. If the dough seems dry, add more water 1 TBS at a time. I usually use about 3 more TBS water. Let rest 10 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 6 pieces. Dust each piece with flour and roll each into a circle that’s about ¼ inch thick.
- Add ½ TBS vegetable oil to a skillet and heat until shimmering. Add a flatbread, cooking until golden brown, 1-2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean kitchten towel to keep warm and let them steam so they stay soft.
- Continue cooking flatbreads, adding more oil as the skillet starts to look dry.
Recipe adapted from Inspired Taste.
This recipe sounds great. I would love to make it but I see no nutrition list. Cooking for a diabetic, I would know the carb and fiber content. Do you have that infornmation?
I am not a nutritionist or dietitian, just a home cook so I do not provide nutrition information. You might try a recipe nutrition calculator on the web.