Laffa Bread is a traditional Middle Eastern bread that is easy to make at home, right on the stove top, and has so much more character than plain pita bread. You’ll return to this easy flatbread recipe again and again for serving with hummus, or making wrap sandwiches.
First up, I don’t get this aggressive very often, but … don’t lose track of this post! Pin it, bookmark it, memorize it, do whatever you need to do to make sure you don’t lose it before you make this amazing bread. Make it once and you’ll be making it forever, it’s that good.
Everybody knows that homemade hummus is the way to go. It’s so easy and it’s so much better than even the best stuff you can buy. But the real star of this post is the bread you serve with it. Laffa bread is a middle eastern bread that is thicker and chewier than pita. It’s used to wrap meats like kebabs and shawarma in food stands. It’s super popular in Israel and Palestine, and it’s perfect for scooping up hummus. Once you taste laffa bread you’ll never go back to pita again.
The bread dough rises for about an hour, then gets formed into individual pieces, rests for 10 minutes and then gets rolled out and cooked quickly on a griddle.
I find it amazing that so many different breads have such unique characteristics even though they start out with the same simple ingredients: flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water and oil. This bread cooks in just a couple of minutes, and is chewy and very elastic. It’s not a fussy bread—it rolls out easily and the shape isn’t important, you’re going to be ripping it apart anyway.
TIP: The scorch marks give this bread it’s characteristic look as well as a nice grilled flavor, so make sure your grill pan is nice and hot!
You may want to try homemade pita bread, too. I’ll show you How to Make Perfect Pita Bread Every Time.
Laffa Bread and Hummus
Ingredients
laffa bread
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.
Nutrition
notes:
- I am so happy with this recipe, it turns out the perfect laffa bread. I used my kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook and it was great. Even here in February in New England, the warmth from a sunny window rose the dough beautifully. My bread cooked for about 2 minutes on the first side and just a scant minute on the other. I recommend really pre-heating your griddle well.
- This recipe makes 10-12 individual loaves so I froze half the dough in a heavy weight zip lock baggie after the initial rise.
Thanks for pinning!
Tried both of these tonight and they were amazing! Even my husband loved them and he’s never been a hummus fan. I’ve been intimidated by making hummus until this recipe. Thanks so very much.
I’m so glad Sheri — I was thrilled when I discovered that I could make my own laffa bread! Glad we could convert your husband ๐
Cannot overemphasize the importance of removing the skins from the garbanzos. Takes some effort, but so totally worth it. This is the key to the silky smoothy-iness of authentic hummus. Might include some fresh flatleaf parsley because the two go together. Totally crushing on the flatbread.
Great pictures! How big is your grill pan?
Oh goodness that bread looks good!
if you refuse to toot your own horn, i’ll do it for you–great recipes! the bread of middle eastern cuisine is my favorite, and hummus is a staple of chez grace. ๐
ohhh i can survive on hummus and bread for atleast a week, love it so much!
Oh yum!! I love the look of both the hummus and the bread. I bet the bread would be awesome done on the outdoor grill too. I will most definitely be trying both of these recipes.
Oh yes! my kind of comfort food, a perfect dip.
Toot and pat! I think you have every right to be proud, these look perfect!
This hummus looks so rich and flavorful. I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never tried my hand at a homemade variety but your picture is certainly convincing me to just go for it. I love a good hummus; such a nice snack to nibble on.