Skip to main content

3-Ingredient Flaky Flatbread

3.3

(5)

Image may contain Food Bread and Pancake
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

In Epi's 3-Ingredient Recipes series, we show you how to make great food with just three ingredients (plus staples like oil, salt, and pepper).

Just three ingredients get you more flaky layers than you can count.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    2 hours

  • Yield

    Makes 6 pieces

Ingredients

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive oil (for greasing)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, divided

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and slowly add 2/3 cup water, mixing with your hands or a wooden spoon, until a shaggy dough forms. Knead dough in bowl until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Transfer dough to a clean work surface. Wipe out bowl and grease lightly with oil. Return dough to bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest 30 minutes.

    Step 2

    Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper or large knife, cut into 6 equal pieces. Shape into balls, cover, and let rest 15 minutes more.

    Step 3

    Grease a large cookie sheet or the underside of a rimmed baking sheet with 1 Tbsp. butter. Line another rimmed baking sheet with parchment.

    Step 4

    Place 1 piece of dough on prepared cookie sheet. Pat down to a flat oval with your fingertips, then smear 2 Tbsp. butter over dough. Press and slide dough outward with your fingertips, stretching to a very thin oval, about 12x10".

    Step 5

    Starting at 1 long end, roll dough over itself to create a long tube about 1" wide; flatten slightly. Starting at 1 short end, roll into a coil like a jelly roll. Transfer to parchment-lined sheet; cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough. Freeze, covered, 15 minutes.

    Step 6

    Working one at a time, turn coil on its side and flatten to a disc with your palm. Using a rolling pin, roll into a rough oval about 8x4". Transfer to freezer. Repeat with remaining coils and freeze until ready to use.

    Step 7

    Heat 1 Tbsp. butter in a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add 2 pieces of dough, reduce heat to medium, and cook flatbread until bottom is golden brown with large bubbles forming underneath, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, about 1 minute more. Repeat with remaining dough, adding 1 Tbsp. butter before each batch.

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
These soft butter cookies are made with mooncake molds, reminiscent of block print stamps from Jaipur.
Making your own crusty loaves is surprisingly easy.
With the sweet and nutty flavor of ube, these cookies taste like they’ve been dunked into a glass of milk.
Make these cookies for an after-school snack, midday treat, or gift for friends and neighbors.
This tadka-topped focaccia is loaded with crispy curry leaves, black mustard seeds, white sesame seeds, and dried red chiles.
You can enjoy these madeleines with just powdered sugar—or decorate them with a colorful white chocolate shell.
Semolina flour and turmeric give this simple cake a sunny hue and nutty flavor.
Need an elegant dinner party dessert? A quick tea cake? A vacation birthday bake? This chocolaty wonder fits every bill.