Simple flat bread recipe

Continuing in the vein of the last couple of weeks of Vintage Chef columns, this week’s recipe is designed to make the most of common ingredients, and give maximum reward for minimum effort with these incredibly simple flatbreads.

Last week, I wrote about the joy that baking can bring even in adverse circumstances, how it remained a source of solace to me in this brave new world. These flatbreads are joyful (warm, pliable, smoky from the griddle), but when I make them, I tend not to be seeking joy as much as stability. These flatbreads require so little: no yeast, no proving time, no kneading – they don’t even need an oven. And it takes – from bag of flour to stuffing it in your mouth – about ten minutes. Being able to make flatbreads so quickly, so easily, from just two ingredients, makes me feel in control, makes me feel safe, like I can provide for myself and those around me. When I make these flatbreads, I can’t help but feel: I’ve got this.

Over the last week, a bunch of people have made these flatbreads to my recipe, many of them first time bakers with low expectations of themselves and the end product. But each of them came back to me thrilled with the results and their new found baking confidence. For two ingredients, these flatbreads wield a lot of power.

At their most basic, they really do only require two ingredients: self-raising flour and natural yoghurt. If you can add half a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt, so much the better, but they will work without. Those two ingredients alone will produce soft, handsome flatbreads, that are easy to handle, and whose taste belies their simplicity. I use a (very old, very cheap) griddle pan because it gives the bread those nice dark striation marks, but a frying pan or cast iron skillet will work perfectly well.