Turkish Flatbread Bazlama Recipe

Soft and fluffy Turkish Flatbread is made with flour, yeast, olive oil, yogurt and water. Cooked in a pan over the stove. One of the easiest bread recipes ever! Spread butter on it or dip it into olive oil and enjoy the perfect breakfast or snack!

If you are interested in Turkish recipes, especially breads, you should see our Ramadan pide bread and sesame seeds bread aka simit.

This is the best Turkish flatbread recipe because it comes out super soft thanks to the combination of yeast, yogurt and olive oil. If you are looking for a bread without yeast though, go check out our easy no yeast bread rolls!

What Is Turkish Flatbread Bazlama?

Turkish Flat Bread -known as bazlama is a traditional bread similar to naan bread, generally baked over wood fire in villages. This bread is mostly identified with village life because of the simple ingredients needed for the recipe: flour, salt, water and yeast. If you are looking for a flat bread to make wrap sandwiches, make thin lavash bread with almost the same ingredients.

When my grandpas were alive, we used to visit them  very often. They used to live in a village and whenever we went there, grandma would always make the best flatbread for us. 

She would also brew a teapot of Turkish famous black tea again over a wood fire. I don’t know why, but the fire of wood changes the taste of everything. If you have the chance of cooking a dish over wood fire, you’ll understand what I mean. Even tea gets a different flavor when brewed over it.

Grandma was great at making bread rolls with yeast and simple flatbread. She would always serve newly baked bread with a piece of butter that she herself made or with some olive oil which they themselves produced from their yard. 

So this simple breakfast became a feast for us. Imagine a piece of newly made flat bread, still fuming, and dipping it into some very natural olive oil or spreading some fresh butter, which has a milky scent on it.

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Ingredients

As we don’t have a chance of making my flat bread on a wood fire, we make it in a non-stick pan over medium low heat. Unlike the traditional basic flatbread recipe, which is made only with flour, salt, water and yeast, we make this homemade flatbread with two additional ingredients: yogurt and olive oil. These two extra ingredients help the pan bread come out wonderfully soft and fluffy.

How To Make

This bazlama recipe is no different from any other yeast bread recipes:

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• First, prepare the yeast. Whisk the yeast together with sugar and warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes for proofing.
• Second, put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add yogurt and olive oil, mix it well with a spatula or your hand.
• Third, pour the yeast mixture into the flour. Combine everything well with your hand. Wet your hand as needed when kneading the dough. The dough should still be sticky, don’t worry. When everything holds together, make a big ball. On the other hand, if you don’t want to involve your hands, you can definitely make this with a stand mixer dough hook.

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• Fourth, cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and wait it in a warm place for about 45-60 minutes to rise well. 

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• When the dough is doubled in size, you can start to make your bread. Sprinkle some flour on the counter, transfer the dough on it and knead for about 5 minutes to remove the air inside it. Add little flour if needed to prevent sticking. Then make a big log from it and cut it in equal pieces. We made 12 pieces. 

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• Next, roll each dough slice into a ball. Fold the edges to the center and then roll in your palm and give it a ball shape. Cover all the balls with a slightly damp cloth so that the dough balls don’t dry out.

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• Now you can shape the dough. Grab one ball and place it on a floured surface. Flatten it by pressing your hands on it. The thickness will be about 1 inch/2,5cm. You don’t need to use a rolling pin as the dough is very soft. Repeat for all the remaining balls and cover the flattened dough pieces with a damp cloth. This will give them a second rise. 
• Finally, cook the flatbreads. heat a non stick pan over medium high heat and put the flattened dough on it. Turn it over after 30 seconds and cook the other side. Turn it again and repeat this for a few times. It will be done in approximately 5 minutes. Transfer it on a tea towel and cover with another tea towel. Repeat for the remaining flattened dough circles. You can use two pans at the same time to finish them up quicker.  

How To Eat

Our favorite way to eat bazlama is simple. Spread some butter or dip it into olive oil when it is still hot at breakfast.

Also, you can make a flatbread sandwich for lunch. Cut it in two halves, fill it with whatever you like. As an example, cheese and herbs make a good filling.

Moreover, this fluffy bazlama flatbread makes a perfect snack as a substitute for tortilla chips when you serve it with fresh thyme preserved in olive oil, hummus or another dip.

As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

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