A few years ago, I started making various quick gluten-free flatbreads to use in meals when I wanted a grain but needed something quick, easy and different from the usual rice or quinoa or millet or buckwheat. I would often choose a slice or two of my whole grain gluten-free sourdough in that instance, but often I don’t have any bread handy either.
The flatbreads, made with just a couple flours, a pinch of salt and water, were a little lackluster, and William ate them unenthusiastically. Somewhere in the many months of making them, I happened upon the addition of psyllium seed husk. I also use psyllium husk in my sourdough recipe – it’s an essential ingredient for the stretch that gluten-free bread doughs will otherwise lack.
The psyllium addition has been a gamechanger. The flatbreads have become flour tortillas, or wraps, which I went over a decade without, and burrito size tortillas for various burritos and wraps – also a warm welcome after so long without.
The bonus is: these come together really quick! Like just as quick as the much less pliable flour/water/salt version. And if you only want enough for a meal, any leftover dough can easily be refrigerated until the next day, and rolls out super quick as you’re reheating leftovers.
Probably the only thing you’ll be wishing you had is an even larger pan to get these as absolutely large as you can possibly want them. :)
Gluten-Free Flour Tortilla or Chapati Flatbread
This is a quick and easy flatbread that can be used to make thin flour tortillas, or as chapati flatbread as a whole-grain addition to a balanced meal.
Prep: 15-25 minutes | Cook: 20-30 minutes | Serves: 4
12 grams / 2.5 Tbs. psyllium husk (rough husk form, not powder
240 ml / 1 cup warm water
180 grams / 1 ½ cups whole grain gf flour mix
(or a 50:50 mix of brown rice and sorghum flour)
¼ tsp. mineral salt
- In a bowl, whisk the psyllium husk and warm water. Within a few seconds, a gel will start to form. Set aside until needed.
- In a separate larger bowl, stir the flour(s) and salt together, then add the liquids and mix with a wooden spoon until all the flour is mixed in.
- Then, give it a thorough knead by hand. Squeeze the dough through your fingers and work your way around the bowl, scraping off the sides as necessary. The final dough should come away from the sides of the bowl and be very springy to the touch. It shouldn’t be too sticky. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth – so long as it’s homogeneous with all the ingredients well combined and no clumps of flour or psyllium gel, you can proceed to the next step.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 to 6 equal portions. If making four, this will yield burrito size tortillas or flatbreads – if you’re making them quite thin.
- Cover the pieces you are not currently working with with a towel to prevent them drying out.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a thin tortilla, or if you’re wanting a thicker flatbread, you can also use your hands.
- For a tortilla, aim for very thin, about 1mm thick. This works best when your countertop is well-floured and you rotate the dough frequently to prevent it from sticking to the surface. As necessary, dust the top of the tortilla and your rolling pin with more flour.
- To cook: Heat a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. The pan is ready when a droplet of water sizzles on its surface.
- Place a tortilla into the hot pan and cook it for about 45 seconds.
- Once you flip it, it should puff up in places with bubbles of varying size appearing. Cook on the other side for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. The tortilla is done when you begin to see large dark brown spots on the underside.
- Tip: If your tortillas are cooking/browning too quickly, reduce the heat. If they’re taking longer than a minute per each side to cook, increase the heat.
- Transfer to a clean dish towel and cover – this will help it stay soft and flexible. Continue cooking the remaining tortillas.
Notes: The tortillas are best served warm immediately after cooking, but can be stored for 1-2 days and reheated.
You can also store the uncooked dough in a covered container in the fridge for a day to quickly make 1-2 fresh tortillas as needed.
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