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This delicious, pillowy soft Turkish Flatbread is an easy, one-bowl-no-mixer recipe. It's perfect with hummus, tabouli, for wraps and so much more!
If you think you have to have a bit of Middle Eastern heritage to make great Turkish Flatbread, think again! This recipe comes together quickly, without a mixer and minimal kneading and rising. These delicious, tender, pita-type flatbreads are cooked in a pan on the stovetop in minutes.
What is flatbread?
Flatbread has become popular restaurant and grocery store fare in recent years, but it's definitely not a new invention. Rather, it has a long history, originating in ancient Egypt. Over the years, many other cultures, including India, Armenia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Afganistan, and Turkey have come up with their own version of flatbread, each one having slightly different characteristics. What's really fascinating, is that some countries, like Turkey, have numerous types of flatbread, each region of the country having its own distinct version.
In Turkey, flatbread is a staple and there are shops that exclusively sell this simple, delicious type of bread. The variety is staggering. I've read about Pide, Lahmacun, Gözleme, Yufka, Lahmacun, and Bazlama, to name a few. The main differences are in the shape, toppings and cooking methods.
The Turkish flatbread recipe I'm sharing today is Bazlama. Bazlama is similar to naan and, in Turkey, is often baked over an outdoor, wood fire. Bazlama is also known as "village bread" as it's often sold in stands at Turkish markets. One of the distinctions of Bazlama is that it's made with Greek yogurt, making the bread super tender and giving it a tasty tang.
The ingredient list for this Bazlama is, like most flatbreads, super simple: yeast, sugar, water, flour, yogurt, and salt. The dough is stirred up by hand in a bowl, then turned out onto the counter for a short kneading time. It's then covered and allowed to rest for 15 minutes and then it's ready to roll into circles. A short stint in a hot pan and you'll find these fragrant, tender flatbreads difficult to not devour, all by themselves. (Don't ask me how I know!)
I've made several batches of this Turkish flatbread, tweaking it a bit each time and finding more and more ways to use it.
Ways to use this Turkish Flatbread
- Eat it plain or with a spread of peanut butter and a drizzle of honey for a delicious snack.
- Divide the dough into 14 or 16 portions and make the flatbreads smaller. Serve them warm in a bread basket as a dinner bread.
- Spread a spoonful of hummus down the center of a flatbread. Top with grilled (or rotisserie) chicken, diced tomatoes, cilantro, Kalamata olives, crumbled Feta and a drizzle of Zoe's Copycat Dressing. Serve it as a wrap - delish!
- Make flatbread pizza. Just add toppings and bake for 5-8 minutes in a 450˚F oven.
- Stuff with scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast flatbreads.
- Use them in place of bread for your favorite sandwich.
- Heat a medium non-stick sauté pan over medium heat until hot. Add a small drizzle of olive oil and swirl pan to coat. Add a Turkish flatbread and cook until underside is golden. Flip to opposite side and continue cooking till also golden. Cut in wedges and serve as a delicious accompaniment to salads, soups or as an appetizer with hummus or spreads.
- Serve it with Grilled Chicken Swarama and Turkish Cucumber Tomato Salad - recipes coming!!
Café Tips for making this Greek Yogurt Turkish Flatbread
- You can make these flatbreads thicker or thinner by rolling the dough rounds bigger or smaller. I like a medium thickness and roll mine approximately 7 inches in diameter.
- Since every stove is different, you might have to experiment a little bit with the first flatbread. You want the heat high enough that bubbles appear on the top surface and the underside is getting a few golden spots after about 45 seconds to 1 minute. If you're not seeing the bubbles, increase the heat. If the underside is getting brown too fast, decrease the heat a bit. On my stove a heat setting slightly below medium is perfect.
- Brush the dough rounds lightly with olive oil. You want to cover the surface but you don't want greasy flatbread.
- I use whole milk Greek yogurt, but I think any variety of plain Greek yogurt will work fine.
- A tablespoon of kosher salt sounds like a lot, but it's divided between 10 large flatbreads. I tried it with less and the results tasted somewhat bland. However, if you use regular iodized salt instead of kosher salt, definitely use less. Here's a great conversion chart for kosher and table (iodized) salt.
- If you're not used to working with yeast, don't worry! The only trick with yeast is to use the right water (or other liquid) temperature. You want it to be right between 105-110˚F. If you test it with a finger, that's fairly hot, but not so hot that you'd pull your finger back. If you're not sure, use a thermometer to test the temp before adding the yeast and you'll be just fine.
This delicious, pillowy soft Turkish Flatbread is an easy, one-bowl-no-mixer recipe. It's perfect with hummus, tabouli, for wraps and more!
- 1 ¼ cups warm water 105-110˚F
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dried yeast 1 packet
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ cup Greek-style yogurt
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
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Combine the yeast, sugar, and water into a medium-large bowl and stir well. Allow to sit in a warm place for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture will be foamy and bubbly when activated.
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Whisk in the Greek yogurt olive oil and salt.
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Add flour and parsley and stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula and until the dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a well-floured counter and turn to coat. Knead for 3-4 minutes or until dough is no longer sticky and springs back when lightly pressed. Sprinkle more flour onto the counter if the dough is sticky during kneading.
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Divide dough into 10 equal pieces, sprinkle lightly with flour, then cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
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Preheat a medium saute pan to a medium-low heat. While pan is heating, roll one of the dough portions into an approximately 7-inch circle. Brush the top surface lightly with extra virgin olive oil. When the pan is hot, pick up the first circle with your hand and place in pan, oiled side down. Lightly brush the top surface with oil. Allow to the flatbread to cook for about 1 to 1 ½ minutes, until top surface is covered with bubbles and underside is golden around the edges and in spots.
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Flip to opposite side and cook for another 60-90 seconds until a few small golden spots appear. Don't overcook on the second side. Repeat rolling, oiling and cooking with remaining portions of dough.
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Sprinkle flatbreads with a bit more chopped parsley when finished, if desired. Stack flatbreads in a clean kitchen towel after cooking to steam a bit and retain softness.
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When cool, store in a ziplock bag. Reheat in a pan without oil for a minute or two on each side OR wrap flatbreads in paper toweling and heat in the microwave on low power until warm.
See Café Tips above in post for further instructions and tips.
Adapted from Allrecipes.
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Cheryl says
Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Easy instructions and I didnt add anythjng extra, you dont need to,This will be a my go to from now on. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thank you for letting us know, Cheryl!
Guy Cesario says
I just made a triple recipe of these to go with Cilbir for Dinner. I used about a cup of sourdough discard, they came out AMAZING! Thank you so much for the recipe. It is a keeper!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
That's great! Thanks for your review, Guy!
Linda Marais says
These were so easy to make and delicious!! Mine didn't come out as round as yours lol, but they were amazing anyway! I will definitely make them again and again.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
That's great, Linda! Just keep practicing with the shape 🙂
Sadie says
Excellent flatbread both for taste and texture. I'm always looking for ways to use up sourdough discard so subbed 225 grams of discard for 113 grams of the water and flour. I also added onion powder, garlic powder and cumin. After kneading the dough I let it rest until it was nice and puffy, then divided it into 9 portions 117 grams each. To avoid adding flour when rolling the dough out into disks, I lightly greased the counter with olive oil, then brushed the top side only to cook the flatbread. As noted in the tips section of the recipe, the dough benefits from a generous measure of salt. A keeper!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks for your review, Sadie!
Denise H says
I loved the idea about using oil on the counter, so I tried it and it was great! This has become my go-to recipe and I've made it a few times already.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Denise!
MURAT says
Nothing gre*k about it. Its turkish the words origin is turkish the bread itself is turksih. you dont see anythingabout it the ancient greek writing/drwaing. WHAT IS IT GREEK aobut? damn. yoĞurt ıs alsı turkısh too
ağğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğğ
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for your kind, thoughtful comment, MURAT. This is simply one chef's interpretation of Turkish Flatbread and you might want to try it, it's quite delicious too!
I'm so sorry you're having a bad day.
BTP says
The Greeks and the Turks have a history of animosity. They don't like each other. That should help explain the response.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your insight, BTP but the world will be a better place when we all respect and respond kindly to each other.
Christine says
Hi!
I was wondering if these could be made with gluten-free flour?
Thanks
Christine
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Christine, I have not tried these with GF flour but perhaps some of our readers could chime in!
Natalie says
I made these and they turned out great! However, as-written there is not enough flour. The dough was a sticky mess. I ended up adding almost 2 more cups of flour in order to get it to the point where I was even able to turn it out of the bowl! I used fresh mint instead of parsley, which was a really good add-in. Next time I make these I may try adding cumin seeds with parsley or stuffing them with garlic and herbs as they do in Turkey.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Natalie, yes, this is a sticky dough and needs a good amount of flour on the counter. Flour can vary, depending on the moisture content and the humidity so it is important to use enough flour so the dough won't be sticky after kneading it.
Amy says
Can the dough be made and frozen before cooking? I’d like to make a batch of dough and freeze in portions so I can take out and defrost/cook when required
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Hi Amy, it's best to cook the flatbreads first and then freeze. They freeze perfectly and then you can pull out what you need. Enjoy!
Robin says
These are delicious and so fun to make ! We had them with homemade taztziki , yum ! Will definitely make again !
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Robin!
Sherry says
Can you please share your taztziki recipe with me? Thanks
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sherry, I don't have a written down recipe. If it's not for the blog, I often don't measure. Next time I make it, I'll write down the ingredients and amounts.
SLake says
I have a fabulous little Greek cookbook. I think it's the best Tzatziki I've had. I'll share here in case people want to try: (Chris, please remove if this isn't ok.)
1 cup Greek yogurt (You can use Skyr if the tang of Greek is more than you like)
5 Inches of cucumber, peeled and grated (I use English cucumber because they are less watery)
1 garlic clove, minced (adjust to your taste)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons of finely minced mint or ½ tsp dried mint (I MUCH prefer fresh!)
Salt to taste (or not)
Mix all together and chill for at least 2 hours. It will last for 5 - 7 days in the fridge. Enjoy! Source: The Little Greek Cookbook by Rena Salaman
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, it sounds delicious!
Denise H says
Thank you for the tzatziki recipe. Just made it, along with the Turkish flatbread! Both easy to make and delicious! They both will now be go-to recipes.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks, Denise!
Lisa says
Delicious! Thanks for sharing I followed the recipe exactly as written but cooked them on my tortilla press. Will definitely be making again.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks for letting us know, Lisa! Glad you enjoyed them.
Ceren says
These look delicious but this is not Bazlama. Bazlama is thicker and more bready on the inside. This is a regular flat bread. Google Bazlama to see what I mean. Grew up eating fresh home made bazlama. This is not it. Bazlama only has a a few ingredients.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Ceren and to share your expertise.
Alexis Harrington says
The instructions call for a medium sauce pan, but wouldn't a skillet be better for this? Sauce pans have high sides and it would be hard to flip anything in one.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Alexis, the recipe calls for a saute pan, which is like a skillet with low sides.
Alexis Harrington says
Dopey me! I was trying to read the directions without my glasses. I made these the other night and they were such a hit, I was asked to make them up just to use for sandwiches. Thanks a million, Chris!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Glad you enjoyed them, Alexis!
Theresa says
These are great tasting, easy to make! Omitted the parsley however, used roasted garl pepper flake infused olive oil. Yum! Thank you sharing!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks for letting us know, Theresa!
Harry says
The metric flour measurement is wrong, as it was like trying to knead soup.
3 3/4 cups of flour is about 900 grams, but here it's given as 469 grams.
I should have seen that with the ratios, but never mind, it's all experience.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Harry, Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I'm not sure where you are getting your info or math from though??? - 1 cup of all-purpose flour is 120-125g so that is the correct amount of flour. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cups-grams.php
Tanja says
To make a kneadable dough you need the ratio of dry to wet ingredients to be approximately 1:1. In this recipe it is so, even if you don't pack flour in the cup.
Having said that, I have a set of cups with printed measures, which say: 1 cup = 250 ml (or grams); 1/2 cup = 125 ml (or grams); 1/3 cup = 80 ml (or grams); and 1/4 cup = 60 ml (or grams). Because one kilo (1 kg, which is 1,000 grams) equals one liter (1 l, which is 1,000 mililiters). So, to have a 250 grams of flour in 1 cup, it should be very, very tightly packed. Loosely (or very loosely) packed cup probably does not amount to a lot more than 125-150 grams. That's why cups really are not very reliable measure if you're making something for the first time and you have no experience.
By the way - great recipe! I bookmarked it and it will be tried very soon. Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Tanja, hope you enjoy the recipe!
Not sure where you're from but, here in the US, we loosely pack flour in a 1 cup measuring cup to equal right around 125g. That's also what all of the reliable resources agree on, anywhere between 120 and 140g per cup.
King Arthur Flour: 120 grams
Bake From Scratch: 125 grams
Washington Post: 126 grams
The New York Times: 128 grams
Bon Appétit: 130 grams
AllRecipes.com: 136 grams
The L.A. Times; 142
Cook’s Illustrated: 142 grams
Tanja says
I'm from Europe, of course :)))
But we, agree, I think about the amount of flour in "normally" (ie. lightly) packed cup.
Because the volume of any utensil is just that - a volume: a cup full of flour or sugar definitely is not (weight-vise) the same as that same cup full of water or milk.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Tanja!
Claire Van Allen says
Just made these, easy to make and so good I did omit the parsley. Again thank you for sharing
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thank you for letting us know, Claire!