Flat out making flatbreads

It feels like the whole world is making bread these days. Which is to say, it's business as usual.

Turkish flatbread (bazlama) Source: Alan Benson

Right now you can't move on social media without falling over someone's sourdough starter or perfect naan blisters. Everyone we know is busy busting out the bread, showcasing their #bakecorona #comfortfood #isolife. It's little wonder: homemade bread fragrances the air with hope. It brings purpose to our days and gently whispers that everything is going to be okay.

Flatbreads are the winners here. They offer hundreds of years worth of comfort and rhythm. Just about every culture across the world consumes some kind of flatbread as part of their traditional diet. From the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Pacific, flatbreads abound. Fortunately, plenty of them are unleavened, which is good to know when you can't get your hands on a box of yeast for love nor money...

Try one of these flatbreads at your next meal. They work for breakfast, lunch, dinner and the mandatory 27 snack breaks we currently all need to get through the day.

Caribbean: doubles

The bread dough is deep-fried in hot oil and cooked to golden in 20 seconds max. Source: Bloomsbury

From the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, this deep-fried flatbread is a Caribbean favourite. It's flavoured with turmeric and is a rare flatbread in that it's made with yeast.  The dough needs only an hour chilling time, though, so it's a single-day option for a delicious lunch with a vegan-friendly chana curry.

Thailand: roti

Poh's roti recipe starts the day before, giving the dough time to relaaaax. Source: Poh's Kitchen

An egg and flour dough come together quickly but pause for a moment. The secret to avoiding leathery roti is to give the dough plenty of resting time. Then you don’t need to work it too much to shape the bread. Serve roti with a saucy Thai dish like green curry, red curry or yellow curry.

Mauritius: farata

Cook the farata, brushing with more ghee until golden brown and slightly puffed. Source: Brett Stevens

Just three ingredients - flour, ghee and sea salt - come together to create these light, flaky flatbreads. The ghee is folded into layers of the dough, creating a memorable buttery flavour. They pair perfectly with Creole dishes like a king prawn rougaille, spicy pickled coleslaw or duck curry.

A yoghurt flatbread

These flatbreads are at their best when cooked in a wood-fired oven, but pan fried works well too. Source: Feast magazine

Matthew Evan's yoghurt flatbreads use yeast to create a light and puffy result that need nothing more than a dip in melted butter or olive oil to satisfy. A sneaky favourite is smearing one of these with homemade jam for an afternoon pick-me-up.

Turkey: bazlama

Wrap bazlama around some pan-fried haloumi, a drizzle of honey and a scattering of fresh oregano. Source: Alan Benson

This moreish flatbread has a long fermentation time that gives its distinctive well-developed and slightly sour flavour. It’s perfect for dipping into and sopping up fragrant Middle Eastern stews and dips.

El Salvador: pupusas

Other good pupusa fillings are prawns, zucchini, or spinach and cheese. Source: Lilian Funes de Murga

Pupusa is the national dish of El Salvador, a maize flour pancake filled with a variety of flavours like refried beans, pork and cheese. Traditionally the pupusas are used to scoop and soak up salsa and coleslaw.

Mexico: tortilla

You can replace the lard with vegetable shortening for a vegetarian tortilla. Source: Benito Martin

Once you bite into your first tortilla, fresh out of the pan, you'll know exactly why you bothered making your own. You can make corn tortillas using masa harina or corn tortilla flour, or just use bread flour and lard to make this version.

Italy: schiacciata

Silvia Colloca's gluten-free schiacciata is topped with tomatoes, chilli and ricotta, or potato and anchovy. Source: Cook Like An Italian

Crunchy, schiacciata is probably the ancestor of the well-known focaccia. It's the ancient bread of Lombardian farmers, keeping for days when they went out to work. Schiacciata can be eaten plain (it's popular with an evening glass of dry white wine) or topped with flavours, much like a pizza.

Armenia: matnakash

Matnakash translates to finger draw and is derived from the traditional way of decorating the bread top. Source: Alan Benson

A flour wash gives matnakash a deliciously crisp upper crust that contrasts particularly well with its soft, slightly chewy texture. In Armenia, this distinctively patterned oval bread is still a core staple, eaten most days.

India: naan

Naan is a must for scooping up everything from dahl to korma. Source: Murdoch Books / Sasha Gill

Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven, giving them their distinctive burnished exterior and fluffy interior. To get a similar result at home, you can use a combination of baking in the oven and charring over an open flame.

Turkey: pide

Pide is baked, not fried. Source: Chris Chen

Perhaps Turkey's most famous flatbread (for there are many), pide is one of the easiest flatbreads to make. The addition of milk and egg to the dough brings a rich creaminess to the final flavour. Pide is another flatbread recipe that uses yeast, but the proving time required is only half-an-hour.

Italy: torta al testo

These Umbrian flatbreads are named for the round pan (testo) they are traditionally cooked in. Source: John Laurie

Torta al testo is a flatbread hailing from Umbria. It was traditionally made without leavening agents, but these days it's typical for a small amount of bicarbonate of soda to be added to the dough. Toppings like salami or prosciutto are served sandwiched between two rounds of this stovetop bread. It also makes a great sponge for any hearty Italian stew.

Sweden: polarbröd

Polar bread can also be made crisp, depending on preference and need. Source: Alan Benson

This Swedish flatbread is similar to thick pita. It's soft, slightly chewy, has a light rye flavour and makes the perfect sandwich bread to split and fill. Gravlax, dill and crème fraîche is a popular filling choice.

Lebanon: man’oushe

The indentations in the dough are decorative, but also increase the topping surface area. Source: SBS Food

Man’oushe takes its name from the Arabic word for ‘engraved’ because of the indentations made into the dough with the tips of the fingers. It's a relative newcomer on the Lebanese food scene, but it's quickly become a favourite for breakfast, served with olive oil and zaatar.

Ethiopia: injera

Traditionally used as the plate, injera is perfect for transporting curry and stews to eager mouths. Source: Murdoch Books / Ben Dearnley

Injera is a staple for most Ethiopians. The unleavened bread is traditionally made from teff, a tiny round khaki-coloured grain. Teff can be found in some health food stores, but, alternatively, you can use wheat or cornflour.

Iran: nan-e barbari

Nan-e barbari is usually sprinkled with poppy, nigella, or sesame seeds before being baked in a tandoor oven. Source: Jennifer May

Nan-e barbari is an Iranian wheat-based, leavened flatbread. It's formed into a long oval shape then brushed with roomal, a flour glaze which gives it a crisp golden crust, but keeps it nicely fluffy inside.

Afghanistan: bulani

Bulani is a popular street food snack in Afghanistan. Source: Silsla Seddiqi

The very popular bulani are pockets of Afghan bread filled with different vegetable mixtures and fried. Tear the bulani into pieces and dip into homemade plain yoghurt before eating.