Easy Turkish Bread (Bazlama) with a Puffy Hollow Center
By Ava Mitchell
Heating the rolled dough in a thick pan creates bubbles that expand into Bazlama’s hollow center, while lowering the heat after it balloons helps the bread finish without losing its rise. This Turkish flatbread is soft, puffy, and suited to wrapping fillings or dipping into curry.
Warm milk, warm water, sugar, and instant yeast are mixed before flour and salt are added. The dough is kneaded by hand until it is smooth and no longer sticky, then proofed until doubled. Dividing it into six rounds and rolling each to about 18 cm wide and 5 mm thick creates uniformly thin breads that can inflate in the pan.
Watch for lots of bubbles before turning each bread; this is the first visible sign that the heat is working through the dough. When a round pops up like a balloon, reduce the heat to low so it can finish cooking while holding its hollow shape. A thin pan is the main problem noted in the recipe, because the bread may fail to rise properly.
Keep baked breads covered with a cloth while cooking the remaining rounds to prevent drying. Brush them with the optional melted butter or olive oil and parsley, then use them for chicken shawarma, Thai chicken satay, Greek chicken gyro, or butter chicken.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Medium heat starts bubbles across each round, and lowering it after the balloon puff helps the interior finish while preserving the bread’s hollow center.
- Hand kneading continues until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, giving six portions a more manageable texture for shaping and rolling.
- Proofing until doubled gives the yeast time to expand the dough, which supports the puffy structure needed for wrapping fillings or dipping.
- Rolling every portion to about 18 cm wide and 5 mm thick helps the breads cook consistently and makes their bubble cues easier to read.
- A thick pan supports the rise better than a thin pan, directly addressing the source’s warning that thin cookware can prevent puffing.
- Keeping finished breads under a cloth limits drying during the batch, so the earlier rounds stay softer while the remaining dough cooks.
Ingredients
- •500 g bread flour or all-purpose flour (4 cups)
- •160 ml warm milk (2/3 cup)
- •160 ml warm water (2/3 cup)
- •10 g instant dry yeast (1.5 tbsp)
- •10 g sugar (1 tbsp)
- •8 g salt (0.8 tbsp)
- •20 g melted unsalted butter or olive oil (optional)
- •parsley (chopped, optional)
Instructions
- 1
Pour the warm milk, warm water, sugar, and yeast into a container, then mix well.
- 2
Add the flour and salt, then mix well.
- 3
Knead the dough by hand until it is no longer sticky and the surface is smooth.
- 4
Cover the dough and let it proof until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- 5
Divide the dough into 6 pieces and shape them into rounds.
- 6
Cover the rounds with a plastic bag.
- 7
Roll each round into a circle about 18 cm wide and 5 mm thick.
- 8
Heat a pan over medium heat.
- 9
Bake the bread on both sides.
- 10
When lots of bubbles form, turn the bread over.
- 11
When the bread pops up like a balloon, turn the heat down to low.
- 12
Cover the bread with a cloth while baking to prevent it from drying out.
- 13
Use a thick pan rather than a thin pan, as the bread will not rise well in a thin pan.
- 14
Brush the bread with a little melted butter or olive oil and serve with chopped parsley, if using.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
706
Protein
23g
Fat
10g
Carbs
128g
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