Best Flatbread

Chapati na maharagwe is an East African meal whose Swahili name refers to chapati served with beans. The beans are cooked with aromatics and spices, and coastal versions may use coconut milk to create a rich sauce. Pairing the stew with layered, pan-cooked flatbread reflects the long interaction of...

Bhakri is a round, often thick unleavened flatbread from western and central India, made from flours such as jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet), ragi, rice, or wheat. Because these flours usually lack gluten, the dough is often shaped by hand or rolled and then cooked on a griddle, sometimes fini...

Harcha, also spelled harsha, is a Moroccan griddle bread made primarily from semolina flour, which gives it a crumbly interior and slightly gritty texture. The dough is enriched with butter or oil and shaped into discs before cooking on a hot griddle until golden. It is typically served warm for bre...

Vinschgauer is a small, dense, dark rye flatbread from the Vinschgau valley in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It is flavored with aromatic seeds such as fenugreek and caraway and baked into a dry, long-keeping bread associated with alpine preservation traditions. The name has protected geographical in...

Monjayaki is a savory Tokyo specialty made from a thin, runny wheat batter mixed with dashi, shredded cabbage, and ingredients such as seafood, meat, or cheese. It is cooked on an iron plate, and diners often eat it directly from the griddle with a small spatula. The dish is historically associated...

Jowar roti is an unleavened flatbread made from sorghum flour, known as jowar in Hindi and jolada rotti in Karnataka. Because sorghum lacks gluten, the dough is usually kneaded with warm water, patted by hand into thin rounds, and cooked on a griddle. It is a daily staple in Maharashtra, Karnataka,...

Flatbreads & Flavors is a 1995 cookbook by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid that combines bread recipes with travel writing and regional food traditions. It surveys flatbreads from numerous cultures and pairs them with accompanying dishes such as salads, stews, curries, sauces, and grilled foods. The...

Crescia is an Italian flatbread from the Marche region, particularly around Urbino, and is related to piadina. The dough is enriched with lard or oil, eggs, and black pepper, giving it a softer and richer texture than a basic piadina. It is cooked on a flat griddle or heavy pan called a testo and is...

Sada roti is a plain unleavened wheat-flour flatbread from Trinidad and Tobago, part of the Indo-Caribbean culinary tradition shaped by Indian indentured laborers and their descendants. The dough is divided into rounds, cooked on a hot tawa, and often puffs up before being torn into pieces. It is co...

Warqa is a Moroccan pastry dough made by dabbing a wet wheat-flour batter onto a hot metal surface and peeling off paper-thin translucent sheets. The sheets are brushed with oil or butter and stacked until pliable, producing delicate layers that become crisp when cooked. It is widely used as the wra...

Laobing is a northern Chinese wheat-flour flatbread cooked in a pan or on a griddle. The dough is rolled and often folded or layered with oil to create a chewy interior and crisp surface, and it may be seasoned with scallions and salt. It is typically made in broad rounds, torn into pieces, and serv...

Girda is a round, leavened wheat bread from Kashmir, India, traditionally baked in a tandoor by local bakers known as kandurs. The high heat of the clay oven produces a crusty exterior and soft interior, and the surface may be sprinkled with sesame or poppy seeds. It is commonly eaten fresh with noo...

Fry bread is a Native American fried dough made from wheat flour, salt, water or milk, and shortening or lard, then deep-fried until puffed and golden. It developed among the Navajo during the 1864 Long Walk, when displaced communities received U.S. government rations and adapted to unfamiliar flour...

Tunnbröd is a Swedish flatbread traditionally made from barley or rye flour, sometimes with wheat added, and baked as either a soft, flexible bread or a dry, crisp variety. It is associated with northern Sweden, where it was historically a long-keeping staple on farms. Soft tunnbröd is commonly roll...

Roti Boyan is a thin, layered wheat-flour flatbread associated with the Boyanese people of Bawean Island, Indonesia, and with Boyanese communities in Singapore and Malaysia. Historically sold by Boyanese street vendors, it is pan-cooked and reflects Indian bread-making techniques absorbed into Malay...

Hojaldra is a Panamanian fried bread made from wheat-flour dough enriched with fat and often lightly sweetened before being deep-fried until puffed and golden. It is sold at roadside stands, markets, and festivals and is commonly eaten at breakfast, sometimes with coffee or cheese. Although its name...

Pistoccu is a traditional Sardinian flatbread from the Ogliastra region, related to pane carasau but generally thicker and less brittle. It is made from wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast, baked into dry sheets that keep well and were suited to shepherds and rural households. Before eating, it is o...

Schüttelbrot is a crispy, thin flatbread originating from the South Tyrol region of northern Italy. The dough is primarily made from rye flour, sourdough, water, salt, and spices such as caraway, fennel, or coriander. Its name translates to "shaken bread," referring to the traditional method of pres...

Khakhra is a thin, crispy flatbread originating from the Gujarat region of India, where it is commonly consumed as a breakfast food or snack. It is prepared by rolling out whole wheat flour dough into very thin circles, which are then roasted on a hot griddle known as a tava while being pressed flat...

Knäckebröd is a traditional Swedish crispbread historically made from rye flour, water, and salt, and recognized for its hard, dry texture. Historically, the dough was baked into large flat discs with a hole in the center, allowing the bread to be hung on poles above the fire to dry and store for mo...

Muufo is a traditional flatbread from Somalia, typically made from a combination of cornmeal, wheat flour, water, and salt. The dough is usually baked in a clay oven known as a taano or over hot coals, resulting in a thick, spongy interior and a crusty exterior. It is heavily consumed across the Hor...

Kisra is a traditional fermented flatbread and a dietary staple in Sudan and South Sudan. It is prepared from a batter of sorghum flour—though pearl millet is occasionally used—that undergoes a brief lactic acid fermentation process. The fermented batter is cooked into a thin, crepe-like flatbread o...

Khichia is a type of traditional thin flatbread and papadum originating from the Gujarat region of India. It is uniquely prepared from a spiced rice flour paste, which is rolled out into thin circles and sun-dried to remove all moisture. Unlike many flatbreads cooked fresh for meals, dried khichia h...

Johnny Cake is a traditional flatbread made from cornmeal, with historical origins tracing back to the Indigenous peoples of North America. The recipe was adapted by European settlers and subsequently spread throughout the Americas and the Caribbean, taking on various regional forms. In the southern...

Bannock is a type of flatbread or quick bread with origins in Scotland, where it was historically made from barley, oatmeal, and water, and cooked on a griddle. Scottish explorers and fur traders introduced the basic recipe to North America, where it was widely adopted and adapted by Indigenous popu...

Farl is a traditional type of flatbread prevalent in Irish and Scottish cuisine, characterized by its distinctive triangular shape. The name originates from the Scottish Gaelic word "fardel," meaning a fourth part, because the circular dough is cut into four equal wedges before cooking. It is common...

Akki roti is an unleavened flatbread from Karnataka in southern India whose name literally refers to rice bread in Kannada. Its dough is based on rice flour and may be mixed with ingredients such as onion, green chili, herbs, grated vegetables, or spices before being pressed flat and cooked on a hot...

Kuzhalappam is a traditional snack from Kerala, India, made from rice flour formed into hollow cylindrical tubes and deep-fried until crisp. The batter is commonly seasoned with cumin seeds and coconut before being rolled and cooked in hot oil. The snack is particularly associated with Kerala's Syri...

Rieska is a traditional Finnish flatbread typically made from barley flour, though regional variations using potato, rye, or oat flour also exist. The bread is usually unleavened or lightly leavened and is baked into round, flat loaves. It is closely associated with rural communities in northern and...

Balep Korkun is a traditional Tibetan flatbread made primarily from barley flour, often using tsampa (roasted barley flour). The dough is formed into flat, round shapes and cooked on a hot pan or griddle, typically without oil. It serves as a dietary staple in Tibetan communities across the Himalaya...