How to Make Laffa Bread

Laffa is one of those breads that changes the whole meal. It is bigger and chewier than pita, soft enough to fold around a generous filling, and sturdy enough to drag through a bowl of hummus without falling apart. And because it cooks right on the stovetop, you get those browned, blistered spots in just a couple of minutes. I use my standard grill pan.

I first made this recipe years ago and it immediately became one of my favorite flatbreads. The ingredient list is ridiculously simple ~ flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water, and oil ~ but a very hot pan transforms that basic dough into something completely different from an ordinary pita.

Laffa is the wrap bread ~ pita is the pocket bread

Laffa is an Iraqi flatbread, especially associated with Iraqi Jewish cooking, and today it is a familiar street-food bread in Israel and elsewhere in the region. Traditionally it is baked against the scorching-hot wall of a clay oven such as a tannur or taboon.

The easiest way to understand laffa is to compare it with pita. Pita is smaller and puffs to form a pocket that you split and stuff. Laffa stays flat and pocketless, so you pile food on top and roll or fold the bread around it. That makes it especially good for shawarma, falafel, kebabs, sabich, and any filling with plenty of sauce.

This simple dough needs one good rise

The dough is straightforward: mix it, knead until smooth, then let it rise for about an hour. Divide it into individual pieces and give them another short rest before rolling. That little rest matters because relaxed dough rolls out much more easily and won’t keep springing back.

Laffa doesn’t need to be perfectly round. Roll each piece fairly thin, but not paper-thin ~ you want enough body to get that characteristic chew while keeping the bread flexible enough to wrap.

A very hot pan gives laffa its blisters and chew

Traditional laffa gets intense heat from a clay oven; at home, a hot cast-iron skillet or griddle does a very good job. Preheat the pan thoroughly before the first piece goes in. The dough should start bubbling almost immediately and develop browned spots in about 1–2 minutes.

Flip and cook the second side briefly, just until you get more color and the bread is cooked through. The goal is browned and blistered, not crisp. As each bread comes off the pan, stack it under a clean kitchen towel. The trapped steam keeps the laffa soft and pliable instead of letting the surface dry out.

The best laffa stays soft enough to wrap

That soft, elastic texture is really the point of laffa. It should bend around a filling without cracking, but still have enough chew to stand up to hummus, tahini, meat juices, or a saucy sandwich. Keeping the cooked breads stacked and covered is the easiest way to hold onto that texture.

If you’re making them ahead, let the breads cool, then wrap them well. Rewarm them for a few seconds per side in a hot dry skillet, or wrap a stack in foil and warm gently in the oven. Laffa also freezes well, so this is a good recipe to make in a larger batch.

What to eat with laffa bread

My first choice is still homemade hummus ~ tear off a piece of warm laffa and use it to scoop straight from the bowl. It’s also great with falafel, grilled meats, shawarma-style fillings, chopped salads, and anything with a good tahini sauce. I’ve served it alongside my Moroccan meatballs, too.

If what you’re after is the classic pocket bread, I’ve got that covered, too: How to Make Perfect Pita Bread Every Time.

Add The View from Great Island as a Trusted Google Source

Laffa Bread and Hummus

3.30 from 79 votes

Laffa bread is a traditional Middle Eastern bread that is easy to make at home. You’ll return to this easy flatbread recipe for serving with hummus, or making wrap sandwiches.

Print Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes minutes

Cook Time:10 minutes minutes

Rising Time:1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time:1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Video

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

laffa bread

• 7 cups unbleached bread flour, plus another ½ cup, in case the dough is little too sticky
• 2 1/4 tsp dry rapid rise yeast, (1 envelope)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups warm water

hummus

• 1 clove garlic
• 15 ounces canned chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
• 2-3 Tbsp tahini
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice, juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper, to taste

garnish

• olive oil and toasted pine nuts, for garnish

Instructions

Laffa Bread

• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil and water, then follow instructions below, according to the mixing method you are using.

  If using a food processor: Process for about 60 seconds until a very smooth, soft, and slightly sticky ball forms.

  If using a mixer, mix with the dough hook until the dough is very smooth, soft and elastic.

  If making by hand; after you add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix by hand in the bowl for a few moments until well combined and coming together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about ten minutes until smooth and elastic.
• In all cases, after the kneading, place the dough in an oiled bowl and loosely cover with plastic wrap.

  Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place it in a draft free, warm corner so the dough may rise.

  In about an hour, when the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down.

  Divide the dough into 10-12 equal sized balls, then roll the balls until smooth.

  Place the balls on an oiled cookie sheet. Cover them with a damp tea towel and let the dough balls rest for about ten minutes. Resting makes the dough easier to roll out.
• Pre-heat a grill pan to medium. I find that a large non stick grill pan is the easiest to work with.

  Take a ball of dough in your hands and flatten it out on an oiled wood surface. Roll it out with a rolling pin or use your hands.

  Make a circle about 12 inches in diameter and place the Laffa on the hot grill surface. When you see the edges looking dry and the bread is poofing up, turn it over.

  Laffa only takes a few minutes to grill. Place the finished flatbread in between kitchen towels to keep warm.

Hummus

• Put the garlic and chickpeas in a food processor or blender and process for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. The mixture will be very dry at this point.
• Add in the tahini and lemon juice and processes until smooth. Add a little bit of cold water to thin the hummus if it is very thick.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more tahini or lemon if you like. Spoon the hummus into a shallow bowl and top with a drizzle of olive oil and some toasted pine nuts.

Notes

• Nutrition shown is for 1 laffa bread only, and does not include hummus.

NOTES ~ Click here to add your own private notes.

Course: bread

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: flat bread, laffa

Nutrition

Serving: 1 flatbread · Calories: 314 kcal · Carbohydrates: 55 g · Protein: 9 g · Fat: 6 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g · Sodium: 199 mg · Potassium: 80 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 1 IU · Vitamin C: 0.1 mg · Calcium: 14 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

Did You Make This?We love seeing what you’ve made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.