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Author:
Franco Salzillo
If you like Indian, Greek or Middle Eastern food, you know flatbreads are essential; they’re more than bread; they’re a way to scoop all those flavorful sauces and can become a plate on their own. I even make mini pizzas with flatbread for a quick midnight crave-quencher, and my family loves them.
That’s why I always have flatbread at home. And I’ll admit, I usually go for store-bought, but when I made a few changes to my diet and began to stay clear from gluten, I found myself in a bit of a problem — good luck finding gluten-free flatbread at your local supermarket!
I decided I had to make my own. After a few intense sessions of trial and error, I ended up with the recipe you’ll find below. This is a fluffy, tender and flavorful flatbread, and it’s guilt-free!
You’ll need a few lesser-known ingredients to substitute the standard wheat flour. For me, what works best is a combination of equal parts white rice flour, tapioca starch, a pinch of baking powder and another one of psyllium husk powder.
What’s psyllium husk powder? Well, it’s a plant-based fiber-rich ingredient. You can substitute it with ground flaxseed as well. What this ingredient does is bind the flours together, giving your bread some elasticity. Without it, your flatbread can fall apart.
Then it’s time to make your flatbread. You don’t want to shape these too thin; they should be around half-inch thick. Then you just need to cook them over an oiled, hot skillet, and if you did everything right, they must puff a little. Turn them once and cover them with a tea towel to keep them warm.
It comes without saying you want to make this just before eating, so if you’re planning on making these for a dinner party with friends, have them help you out. That’s a fun way to break the ice and get the conversation going. Making flatbread with a cold beer in hand is the right way to start any dinner party! Don’t you agree?
In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, tapioca flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, salt and canola oil. Combine well with a whisk.
Pour in the water while stirring to form a dough.
Knead the dough until soft and form a ball. Return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it rise at room temperature for an hour.
Divide the dough into six equal pieces and shape them as disks. Roll if necessary.
Preheat a skillet, and cook the flatbread one at a time, 2-3 minutes on each side. They should puff up nicely.
