When it comes to midweek cooking for one, my go-to is always meal-prep to help make my money to go further and reduce food waste. It also means that I can save time cooking in the evening after a long and busy shift.
With the cost of living and ever-increasing prices tightening pursestrings, I constantly find myself avoiding buying pre-packaged items like bread or croissants. As a household of one, these perishable items can go off quickly without storing them in the freezer, so I just avoid buying them all together. Baking from scratch, although I enjoy it, can take up precious time when I’m in need of a meal that’s convenient.
Last year, I found a recipe for two-ingredient protein bagels, where Greek yoghurt can bypass any of the effort and time that a regular dough would need. It turns out that this technique can also be used to make other varieties of bread which can be a good option for a quick bite during the week.
Bored of Lunch’s Nate Anthony recently shared his cheats version of flatbreads, using just Greek yoghurt and self-raising flour and around 10 to 15 minutes of your time. Greek yoghurt and flour creates a dough without the need for yeast, making the process seamless in comparison to traditional bread-making.
Once the dough has formed, it does require a little bit of elbow grease to bring it all together. The amount of Greek yoghurt made the dough a little bit dry, making the last bit of dough difficult to stick together. However, if you knead the dough enough it will come together.
To ensure the flatbreads puff up in the frying pan, it’s key that the dough is thin enough. I made the mistake with one which was just that smidgen too thick.
Also make sure that the pan is hot enough. This method isn’t too dissimilar from the chapati recipe from the Dishoom cookbook, even if the dough is vastly different.
Dishoom recommended using a folded tea towel to pat and push dough on the dough, ensuring that it cooks all the way through. I like to think this will also help the bread to puff up.
Nate’s recipe delivers, especially when you’re in need of a quick bread recipe. The flatbreads need mere minutes in the pan, so you can easily multitask if you’re in a bind.
The beauty of this recipe is that they can be used to make your own sandwiches or serve as a side to a dish like a curry. So these don’t go to waste, I’ve frozen the dough that I won’t eat straight away, which means I’ll save time cooking in the future.
If you’re looking for a cheat’s guide to getting around traditional bread-making, Greek yoghurt is such a great ingredient. Bagels, flatbreads, it really can help even the most novice of home cooks make a complete meal. You’ll never have to buy bread again.
Ingredients
280g Self Raising Flour250g Greek Yoghurt
Method
Add your self-raising flour and Greek yoghurt to a bowl and combine with a fork. Dust your surface with some flour and knead the mixture for a few minutes.
Form a ball with the dough and flatten. Cut the ball into four or eight (depending how small you like the flatbreads).
Flatten using a rolling pin and then transfer onto a pan (medium-high heat). Cook for two to three minutes on each side.
Brush on some melted garlic butter if you are serving with a curry.
