This post shows a scalable way to make a thinner roti-style flatbread (similar to chapatti or phulka) using the Roti-Style Flatbread Dough (2 ways!) recipe. With practice, you’ll get them to puff up into phulkas just as easily.
Few foods remind me of home like fresh, hot roti. While I was growing up, serving piping-hot puffed up roti (phulka) was how my Mom said “I love you.” More than a tradition, it was a form of expression using the language of food. When I went gluten free in 2011 she didn’t miss a beat. My mom quickly invented multiple ways (just to be safe) to keep our yummy lines of roti-communication intact. 🙂 With her permission, I’m posting this recipe so every gluten free person has a chance to feel the love that is piping hot phulkas.
The keys to maximizing flavor and texture are to a) cook each roti as it is rolled and b) serve the rotis immediately. Gluten free, plant-based and vegan and yeast free.
A few notes before we get started:
Making these on the smaller side (~5 inches) makes them easier to handle and helps them puff up into phulkas properly, when desired. Whichever size you choose to make these, they taste best when served immediately.
Cooking phulka-style roti works best for me when I’m using 2 burners. One for skillet-cooking the roti, and the other for puffing it up using a roti jari over an open flame/high heat, as the finishing touch. If you’re a ninja, or really experienced with making rotis, like my Mom, you can probably manage with just one burner.
Let’s begin! Jump to Recipe
Prepare the Dough
Use Method 2 of the Roti-Style Flatbread Dough recipe as follows:. combine flour, salt and oil in a bowl and stir with a fork. Add boiling water and stir with a fork until the dough starts to come together. Knead the dough into a smooth ball with clean hands, cover with a moistened paper towel (or a lid) and let rest for 10 minutes.
Roll Out and Cook the Roti
Heat a skillet at medium heat on one burner. Heat the jari at low heat on the second burner.
Divide the rested dough into about 12 smaller balls. Cover with a moistened paper towel. Remove one dough-ball and use your palms to re-form it into a spherical shape (if needed) and dust it with more loose BRM flour. Place the dusted dough-ball on a clean, firm, flat surface that has also been dusted with a bit of loose flour. Press and begin to roll it into a uniform, flat, circular-ish shape.
Note: I roll out ball into a 5 – 5.5 inch diameter flatbread They usually shrink a bit (~1/2 inch) during the cooking process.
Place the freshly rolled roti onto the heated skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for about a minute or until tiny bumps just become visible on the surface. Flip and cook for about 15 seconds more, or until the air bubbles start growing a tad larger.
Raise the heat under the jari to high.
Transfer the roti to the jari. Allow it to puff up as much as possible without burning, about 3-5 seconds, and remove from heat. Reduce the jari heat back to low.
Repeat!
Repeat the process for the remaining rotis.
Serve!
For best results, serve immediately.
Roti-Style Flatbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 1 tsp oil
- pinch salt
- 0.75 cups boiling water
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Make the Roti-Style Flatbread Dough (2 ways!) recipe using Method 2 as follows: Combine Bob’s Red Mill (BRM) Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, salt and oil in a medium-sized bowl. Add boiling water and stir with a fork until the dough starts to come together. Knead the dough with clean hands into one smooth ball.
- Cover the dough with a moistened paper towel (or lid) and let rest for 10 minutes.
Make the Roti
- Heat a pan at medium heat on one burner. Heat the jari at low heat on the second burner.
- Divide the rested dough into 12-14 smaller balls. Cover with a moistened paper towel. Remove one dough-ball at a time and use your palms to re-form it into a spherical shape (if needed) and dust it with more loose BRM flour. Place the dusted dough-ball on a clean, firm, flat surface that has also been dusted with a bit of loose flour. Press and begin to roll it into a uniform, flat, circular shape.
- Place the freshly rolled roti onto the heated pan. Cook until tiny bumps just become visible on the surface, about 1 minute. Flip and cook for about 15 seconds more, or until the air bubbles start growing a tad larger.
- Raise the heat under the jari to high. Transfer the roti to the jari. Allow the roti to puff as much as possible without burning (about 5 seconds on each side) and remove. Reduce the jari heat back to low.
- Repeat the process for the remaining rotis. For best results, serve immediately.
Notes
Tried this recipe or just have something fun to share? I’d love to hear about it. 🙂 Your comments make my day!
