This wonderful Turkish bread, a skillet bread, is one of our go-to flatbread recipes, and it’s for everybody: easy to make and easy to love. Each step just takes a few minutes. No kneading necessary. And no oven.
One more thing: this bread can be amazing even after a day or two, or thawed from the freezer. A touch of heat on the skillet refreshes its texture beautifully – like freshly made. See the recipe notes for tips.
Homemade flatbread is a major upgrade from store-bought. And the simplicity of this Turkish bread can change the way you look at making fresh bread. If you’ve never made bread before, this recipe is an excellent way to begin. And if you’ve never made flatbread… well, you’ve been missing out!
Turkish bread is known as ekmek in Turkey, and Bazlama is a Turkish flat bread similar to Greek pita that is traditionally cooked on a sac (pronounced sazh) in Turkish, or saj in Arabic, a convex pan that looks similar to an upside down wok. But you can get excellent results on a cast iron griddle or skillet.
My husband has become more of the expert bread baker in the family. I like making bread too. It’s just that he is a bread making machine! I mean he never tires making it. And I never tire eating it. He makes this flatbread, along with Greek pita, especially a lot. I think it’s his sweet response to my extreme enthusiasm. I absolutely love his flatbreads for their fabulous taste and texture—fluffy, floppy—everything I like. And this is how he makes them.
Ingredient Notes
This Turkish bread is made with a combination of bread flour, a touch of whole wheat flour, milk, water and yeast, and brushed with extra virgin olive oil. Below are a few notes on options:
The Liquid
This recipe uses a combination of milk and water, however you can also make it vegan and use all water. The milk enhances the flavor a little and helps to keep the bread a bit more moist, slightly softer and more pliable. With milk, the bread also browns a little faster.
The Yeast
I like to use fresh compressed yeast or active dry yeast. You can use whichever you prefer.
Tip – Testing the Yeast – If you’re not sure how long the yeast has been in storage, and want to test if it’s active before mixing it with the flour: dissolve about a teaspoon of yeast in lukewarm water (not hot) with a pinch of sugar. If you see bubbles within 10 minutes, the yeast is active and good to go. If you don’t, replace the yeast with a fresh batch.
Baker’s Yeast
Fresh compressed yeast, also called Bakers yeast, becomes active quicker, stays active longer, and allows multiple rises, making it more forgiving and more flexible than dry yeast granules. And it doesn’t need warm water to activate it, like dry yeast granules do. With fresh yeast, you can just crumble it over the flour (or dissolve it in tepid water, if you prefer).
Buying Fresh Baker’s Yeast – Fresh compressed yeast (baker’s yeast) can be found in some grocery stores in the refrigerated section, and comes in little blocks wrapped in foil. It lasts forever in the freezer. (Just cut the portion you need and return the block to the freezer.)
Active Dry Yeast
Active dry yeast is very convenient to have around. I like to keep it at home as a backup. Note, active dry yeast requires slightly warm water for activation.
Beginner’s Note – The liquid is warmed just above tepid in order to activate the granules of active dry yeast. With fresh compressed yeast, the liquid just needs to be at room temperature. With either yeast, however, if the liquid is hot, it will kill the yeast and any chance of the bread rising. You want it to be within a range of about 105-110℉ (40-43℃). But if you don’t have a thermometer, that’s okay. Just dip your finger in, per the recipe. If it’s hotter than warm, just monitor it until it cools back down to a little warmer than tepid.
Tips on Making Bazlama Turkish Flatbread
When I make flatbread, the rounds aren’t as round as Francesco’s. But he says they look and taste great anyway. It’s hard to mess these up. And even if you do… chances are they’ll still be enjoyable to eat. In any case, if you are new to making bread, a few tips can make things easier.
Dough Tips
- Tip – Rising & Temperature – Remember that the temperature of the room affects how fast the dough will rise. Warmth speeds it up, cold slows it down. Whether it’s winter or summer and if you have an air conditioner, or the windows open on a scorching hot day, all play a role.
- Tip – Dough Handling – To avoid dough sticking to your hands, wetting them before handling the dough can help.
- Tip – Elbow Room – Clear a wide workspace for yourself beforehand so that you have plenty of elbow room to roll out the dough, happily.
- Tip – Fluffiness – The thicker the rounds of dough, the softer and fluffier the bread. The flatter the dough, the less fluffy the bread. And too thin can make it tough.
- Tips – Cleanup – The glu in the word gluten is no coincidence! And this can make cleanup for bread making a challenge. To help make it easier later, a little prevention helps: A light film of oil in the rising bowl leaves less dough to clean off the bowl later. Don’t let dough dry on your utensils: first rub off as much flour as possible with your hands, then put them in cold water to soak.
Skillet Bread Cooking Tips
- Tip – The First – The first bread to hit the skillet is usually not the best. The heat may not be quite as hot as you thought. Or the perfect state may still be a few minutes away. It’s a phenomenon anyone who often flips pancakes or crepes, or fries up anything on the skillet, knows to expect with a relaxed lack of concern.
- Tip – Mastering the Hand Flip – As a trial run, put your hand in front of you and flip it palm side up, then back to palm side down. Now in the same way, flip your hand palm side up, gently place a circle of dough on your palm, hover it over the skillet, then flip your hand palm face down, dropping the dough on to the hot surface.
- Tip – Quick is Better – You want the heat to be high enough to cook the rounds relatively fast. Lower heat means more time on the skillet, which means tougher bread.
- Tip – Temperature is key. It may take more time than you expect for the pan to get hot enough. Adjust the heat up if the bread isn’t making bubbles within about 30 seconds to a minute. Adjust the heat down if parts start charring before the bread has time to cook.
- Tip – Two People are nice. And faster. One person can roll out a flatbread while the other cooks one up. When I’m by myself, I like to roll them all out together first and drizzle them with oil, then focus on the cooking.
Recommended Tools
I don’t usually recommend so many tools! You may have many of them anyway. Otherwise, you can wing it, at least the first time.
- Digital Scale – Making bread is much faster and easier with a digital scale. And it means less things to clean.
- Rolling Pin – Use whatever kind of rolling pin feels most comfortable to you. (Or you can flatten the dough into rounds by hand.)
- Flexible Dough Scraper – This comes in so handy so often: when scraping dough out of the bowl, dividing the dough into pieces, gently picking up each dough ball to be rolled out, gently prying shaped dough rounds off the table if they begin to stick, scraping leftover dough off the table…
- Oil Drizzler – An olive oil spout or decanter
- Low Rimmed Cast Iron Skillet or a Griddle is ideal. A sac (sazh) is traditionally used in Turkey (saj in Arabic, also called a tava/tawa).
- Spatula – Francesco’s favorite spatula for cooking flatbread is actually a fish spatula. It’s length and curved end make it great for checking how the bread is browning underneath, as well as for flipping, and transferring it to the cooling rack. I think the second best choice is a pancake spatula.
- Cooling Rack – The first flatbread, which becomes the bottom of the stack, tends to get soggy from condensation if you stack them on a plate. The cooling rack solves this. Another option is to prop the flatbreads on the rim of a sheet pan so that air circulates underneath.
- Glass Bowls – One for mixing, one for rising. You can use any kind, but I like to see how much the dough has risen through the glass.
You can, but the dough on the sides of the bowl will dry out and be harder to clean later.
Serving Suggestions
Flat breads like this remain a part of the basic Mediterranean diet for a reason. This popular Turkish bread makes a versatile component to any meal, and can be enjoyed in various ways, both savory and sweet. Here are a few great ways to enjoy Bazlama:
- For breakfast, with butter and jam or honey, or as a wrap for scrambled eggs and potatoes.
- As a wrap with shawarma-inspired spiced and sliced meats, kebabs, any grilled meats; meatballs or sliced rewarmed meatloaf, roasted vegetables, greens sauteed with garlic…
- With meze / appetizer plates of feta cheese, goat cheese, olives, tomato wedges, cucumber slices…
- Use for dipping – hummus, baba ganoush, cacik yogurt and cucumber dip (Turkish tzatziki)…
- Make individual pizzas using your favorite ingredients.
- Make chips – Cut stale bazlama into triangles, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and crisp them up in the oven or skillet. Use for dipping, or flavor with different spices and herbs.
- Make croutons – Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces and proceed as you would the chips above. Toss into salads, soups…
Recipe
Tools
- cast iron griddle or skillet
Ingredients
- 2 tsp (¼oz) active dry yeast or ½ oz (14g) fresh compressed yeast
- ¾ cup whole milk or water
- 1 cup water
- 4 cups bread flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1½ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Mix the Dough
- If using active dry yeast, warm the milk and water together on low heat until just above room temperature (it should feel warm, but not hot, to the tip of a finger, max 110℉/43℃). If using fresh yeast, the liquids should be at room temperature.
- In a large bowl (or stand mixer), mix the bread flour, whole wheat flour and salt together. Sprinkle the dry yeast granules or crumble the fresh yeast on top. Add the milk and water.
- Mix with a large fork, hand, or the hook attachment of a stand mixer set at low speed, until after it passes from raggedy to soft and sticky, and all the flour is well incorporated into the dough, about a minute.
First Rise (Dough)
- Drizzle about a teaspoon of oil on the bottom of a large mixing bowl (to prevent sticking). Transfer the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap to let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Second Rise (Dough Balls)
- Lightly flour a surface large enough to work on and for 6 dough balls to rest on.
- Transfer the dough to the work surface and cut it into 6 equal pieces using a dough scraper. You can use a scale (about 5oz, 150g each) or estimate.
- With floured hands, shape each into a ball by pulling opposite sides up from underneath and pinching them together at the top center until you have a taut ball, and place smooth-side up, about 2 inches (5cm) apart, on the floured surface.
- Dust the tops with flour, cover with a tea towel, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
Shape into Flat Rounds
- First, start preheating a cast-iron griddle or skillet over medium-high heat.
- Prepare work area: Make sure your work surface is smooth and clear of any dough from before, and lightly sprinkle it and the rolling pin with flour.
- Roll out (or flatten by hand) each dough ball into a circle, turning it frequently and flouring the surface, the pin, and your hands, as needed. Each should be about 7 to 8 inches (18-20cm) round and ¼ inch (6mm) thick. (You can either roll them all out first, and then start cooking, or roll each out while another is cooking.)
Cook
- Drizzle the top of the round with olive oil.
Using the palm of your hand or a spatula, flip it oiled-side down onto the dry hot skillet and immediately drizzle with olive oil. Cook until bubbles appear and the bottom develops a nice color, about 1 minute. (If bubbles haven't appeared after about 30 seconds, adjust the heat up.)- Flip the bread and cook until golden on the other side, about 1 more minute. (You can flip them a few more times to prevent charring, if needed. Adjust the heat if necessary.)
- Repeat, stacking them on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
Storing
- At Room Temperature, bazlama stays well for about 2 days. Store in a breadbox or any stainless steel pan with a lid, or a paper bag. Reheat to refresh the texture.
- In the Freezer: Bazlama freezes well for up to 3 months. If frozen the first day, reheating refreshes the texture beautifully – like freshly made. Take out of the freezer 15 to 30 minutes before reheating.
Reheating
Heat in a warm dry skillet for about 30 seconds on each side.Making Ahead
For convenience, you can either freeze cooked flat breads (see Storing), and/or refrigerate or freeze some uncooked dough balls to continue making later. Uncooked Dough Balls – Individually wrap the balls in plastic after step 3 of the Second Rise and:- Refrigerate any dough balls that you plan to cook within a day or two. Take them out of the fridge about an hour before cooking to let them come completely to room temperature before rolling them out.
- Freeze dough balls to be cooked anytime for up to 3 months. Take them out of the freezer 2 to 3 hours before rolling them out. (Or transfer them to the fridge the night before, then take them out about an hour before cooking to let them come to room temperature before rolling them out.)
Nutrition Info: Click to Expand
Did you give this Turkish bread a try? Let me know what you think in the comments!
