Roti Recipe (Indian Flatbread)

This easy Roti Recipe has great tips and tricks on how to save time and make the perfect whole wheat Indian Flatbread at home! The key is to practice a few times until you get the hang of it!

Course Bread, Main Dish, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian, Vegan

Keyword chapati, how to make roti, indian flatbread, roti recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 10

Total Time 35

Servings roti

Calories 35kcal

Author Anjali Lalani

Ingredients

For Dough:

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour , see notes below if using different brand
1 teasp oil , olive oil or avocado oil
1/2 cup water

For Portioning Dough & Rolling:

1/4 teasp oil
Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour , extra for rolling

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Make Roti Dough:

Add the ingredients for Dough above in a mixing bowl or stand mixer.
Using your hands or the low setting on the stand mixer, fully combine all the ingredients until you form the dough.
Knead the dough with your hands or stand mixer for at least 5 minutes (or until dough is soft enough that it leaves an impression when pressed).
The resulting roti dough should be soft, pliable, and not sticky (see below for troubleshooting tips).
Add an additional 1/4 teasp oil after kneading the dough and cover/massage it in once more.
Cover the dough with a damp napkin or cloth for at least 15 minutes to proof the dough.

Setup Your Roti Rolling & Cooking Area:

To setup the rolling area - You'll need a flat plate with some loose whole wheat flour, a wooden or marble non-stick working surface to roll the roti, and a thin rolling pin.
To setup the cooking area - You'll need a flat pan or griddle, and a set of flat tongs to finish cooking over the open flame (see notes below if you cannot cook on an open flame).

To Roll Roti:

Divide the dough into small palm sized portions. Be sure not to make them too large (especially if this is your first time making roti), otherwise it'll be difficult to roll out the roti.
Flour your working surface and rolling pin.
Work with one dough portion at a time. Start by lightly covering the dough on both sides with flour. The easiest way to do this is to quickly press both sides of the dough into the plate of loose flour.
Place the dough on your working surface. Flatten it slightly with the palm of your hands.
Using the rolling pin, roll the dough into a thin circular shape. To avoid sticking while rolling, sprinkle a little loose flour. There are several ways to do this.
If you are still practicing, the easiest way to roll out the roti, is to start in one direction, turn and rotate the roti with your hands several times while rolling so you create a circle. Continue doing this, using loose flour as needed to help avoid sticking while rolling.
After some practice, if you slowly motion your hands in a circular motion, applying a little pressure, the roti will move in a circular motion while you roll it out. Again, this comes with a lot of practice so don't worry if this method doesn't work quite yet.
The resulting roti should be a thin, flat, circular shape (see notes below).

To Cook Roti:

Heat a flat pan on medium heat.
Remove excess flour and transfer the rolled roti flat on a medium-heated flat griddle with your hands, being careful not to tear the roti.
Cook for about 10-20 seconds until the color changes and small bumps start to form.
Flip and cook on the other side for about 30 seconds or until small brown spots start to form on the roti side facing down.
Now remove the pan from the heat, and flip the roti directly onto the open flame (lesser cooked side down) using flat tongs. See notes below on how to cook without open flame.
If the roti was made properly, it should start to fluff up. Once it does, quickly move it around from side to side with your tongs and remove the roti straight into a container. Be sure not to char the roti too much while cooking, otherwise it'll be crispy instead of soft.
Roti tends to get chewy and dry when left open and exposed. So apply some vegan butter to avoid drying, and let it cool. You can continue to stack the roti until they are all done.
Repeat the rolling and cooking steps above with each portioned dough. Once you get the hang of it, you can start rolling the next roti while the previous one is cooking on the pan.

To Store Cooked Roti:

Serving same day - Once all the roti are done and stacked together, close the lid 3/4-ths of the way, until ready to serve.
Serving the following day - Close the lid completely once cooled, and leave out overnight at room temperature.
To freeze extra cooked roti - Place in a sealed freezer bag with parchment paper in between separating each one. Once ready to serve, defrost and cook on low heat on a flat pan on both sides until soft. Spread some vegan butter and serve.

Easy Way To Make Freezable Dough Ahead Of Time - Stand Mixer Method:

Add the dough ingredients to the stand mixer.
Set the stand mixer to the low setting to combine and knead the dough.
Once the stand mixer is done, add the additional oil to coat indicated above, knead once with your hand, and allow the dough to proof for at least 15 minutes covered.
Section it out into large portions (enough for making the amount of roti you need for one meal).
Freeze each section of dough in freezable containers and store in freezer, or place in the fridge for up to 1-2 days.
To Defrost Dough - If possible, place the frozen dough in the fridge the day before making roti to allow it to defrost overnight. Be sure to pull out the defrosted dough and allow it to get to room temperature before making roti.

Notes

The key to this recipe is PRACTICE! Most likely you won't get it right the first time, but after the 10th roti, you'll get the hang of it!

Prep-Ahead - Make large batches of dough in the Stand Mixer and freeze to save time! This is the only way I like to make fresh roti.

Whole Wheat Flour - I have always used Bob's Red Mill 100% Organic Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour for this roti recipe. All brands of whole wheat flour vary slightly, so if you use a different brand of flour, you may need to adjust the amount of water needed for the dough. Start off with less water, and slowly add more as needed.

Cooking Roti Without Open Flame - If you don't have an open flame, cook the roti in a flat pan on both sides for about a minute until brown spots start to form. Flip once more, and using a small flat spatula, gently press around the edges of the roti to try and get it to fluff up slightly.

TROUBLESHOOTING & TIPS -

Making Roti Dough -

Sticky Dough - Too much water. Start with adding 1 tbsp of whole wheat flour at a time, kneading it into the dough, until it's not sticky anymore.
Hard or Tough Dough - Too much flour. Start with adding 1 tbsp of water at a time, kneading it into the dough, until it's soft but not sticky.

Rolling Roti -

Sticking While Rolling - Use a good wooden or marble surface. Flour the surface before starting. If you find it's starting to stick while rolling, stop and flip if necessary. Sprinkle some more flour on top and keep rolling.
Shape Of Roti - Ideally, you want to work your rolling in a round circular motion to make the perfect round roti. But this only comes with practice. As long as the roti is evenly rolled and thin, it doesn't matter what shape it is.

Cooking Roti -

Be sure to pre-heat the pan and cook on medium heat.
Roti Does Not Fluff Up On Open Flame - The roti needs to be thin, evenly rolled, with no tears to fluff up. The process is very forgiving but if you can't get the roti to fluff up, move it around with your tongs to cook quickly and remove from the flame. It'll still taste good.
Chewy and Dry Cooked Roti - The cause of this is either too much extra flour added while rolling, or allowing the roti to dry up after cooking. Try to shake off excess flour before placing the rolled roti on the pan to cook. Butter right after cooking, place them in one stack, and close the container once cooled completely.
Hard Roti - The dough was not soft or pliable, the roti was cooked on too high heat, or there was too much flour added while rolling.

Making Dough Ahead-Of-Time -

I have only tried making large batches of roti dough to freeze in my stand mixer. You should be able to use your food processor but may still need to knead by hand after because of the sharp blades.

Defrosting Prepared Roti Dough

Ideally, you want to transfer the frozen dough into the fridge the day before to allow it to defrost overnight. But if you forget, you can try to microwave the frozen dough in 10-15 second increments, kneading in between as it starts to get soft, until it gets to room temperature.

Nutrition