Roti Making: How to Get Perfect Flatbreads Without Baking Powder
When you think of roti making, the traditional process of shaping and cooking unleavened flatbread from whole wheat flour and water. Also known as chapati, it’s one of the most eaten foods in India—simple, daily, and deeply rooted in home kitchens across the country. Forget what you’ve heard about baking powder or yeast. Real roti doesn’t need them. Its puff comes from steam trapped inside the dough when it hits a hot surface, not from chemical leavening. The magic is in the technique, not the ingredients.
Good roti making, the process of preparing soft, pliable flatbreads using only flour, water, and salt starts with the right flour—whole wheat atta, not all-purpose. The dough needs to be kneaded until it’s smooth and elastic, then rested for at least 30 minutes. This lets the gluten relax, so the roti rolls out easily without springing back. Rolling matters too—thin, even circles cook faster and puff better. Too thick? They stay dense. Too uneven? Some parts burn while others stay raw.
The cooking surface is just as important. A tawa (flat griddle) or cast iron skillet heated to medium-high is ideal. Press the roti gently with a dry cloth as it starts to bubble—that’s when steam builds up and lifts it into a balloon. Flip once, then hold it directly over the flame for a few seconds to char the edges slightly. That’s the secret to restaurant-style roti: simple, fast, and done with heat, not additives.
People often ask if you can add baking powder to make roti fluffier. The answer? No. It changes the texture, makes it bread-like, and ruins the authentic chew. Real roti is meant to be soft but dense enough to scoop up curry, not light and airy like a pancake. The same goes for oil or ghee in the dough—traditionally, it’s left out. You brush it on after cooking if you want richness, but it’s not part of the base.
What you’ll find in the posts below is a practical guide to everything tied to roti making, the core skill behind daily Indian meals. From why soaking urad dal matters for dosa batter (a related flatbread technique), to how paneer texture affects what you eat with roti, to the science behind why certain flours work better than others. You’ll also see how Indian restaurants make their curries thick enough to cling to roti, and how simple changes in dough prep can turn a flat, tough roti into one that puffs like a cloud.
This isn’t about fancy gadgets or complicated recipes. It’s about understanding the fundamentals—heat, moisture, time, and touch—that make roti work. Whether you’re making it for the first time or trying to fix a problem you’ve had for years, the answers are here. No fluff. Just what actually works.
