Roti (Chapati)

The everyday whole-wheat flatbread of North India: atta and water, no yeast, rolled thin and cooked in a minute on a dry griddle, pressed with a cloth so it swells with steam.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Flatbreads section and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

• 250 g chapati flour (atta), or 125 g whole-wheat + 125 g all-purpose flour, plus about 3 tablespoons for dusting
• 1 teaspoon sunflower or other neutral oil
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

About 120 ml (½ cup) cold water

• 2 tablespoons butter or ghee, to serve

Directions

1. Mix. Stir the flour, oil and salt together. Add the water a little at a time to make a firm but not dry dough.
2. Knead 7–10 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest 30 minutes. If sticky, knead in a little flour.
3. Divide into 12 balls. Put the dusting flour in a bowl.
4. Heat a dry griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
5. Roll. Flatten a ball, dip both sides in the flour, and roll to a 12–14 cm (5–5½ inch) circle about the thickness of a coin.
6. Cook about 1 minute, until small air pockets form. Turn and cook about 90 seconds more, until flecked brown. Press the bread with a clean folded cloth as it cooks — it should swell with hot air. Keep turning until puffed and spotted.
7. Serve at once, brushed with butter or ghee, or wrap the stack in a towel or foil to keep soft.

Notes

Source Adapted from Roopa Gulati, “Rotis (chapatis),” BBC Good Food. Cross-checked against Pooja Makhijani, “Roti,” King Arthur Baking, which uses hot water and 2 tablespoons of oil for a softer dough and cooks on cast iron over medium-high, about 1 minute then 20–30 seconds.

Phulka Many cooks finish a part-cooked roti directly over a gas flame with tongs, where it balloons. Neither source above gives that step; the cloth press does the same job on the griddle.

The Flatbreads section of the Breads pages on the Food site covers the history, the science and the griddles.