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Chapati recipe, How to make soft chapati Recipe

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soft-chapati-recipe

Chapati has become a regular food even in south indian house holds. When I was young, I remember chapathi’s being made only very rarely. It was always poori that was made regularly. The chapathi dough was mixed with a good amount of oil for flavor and softness. If made correctly, the extra oil isn’t even necessary. We will be making chapati dough using a technique used in baking called autolyse.

What is Autolyse?

Autolyse is a term used in baking breads. It is nothing but a resting period between mixing and kneading. It helps the flour to absorb more liquid. Its nothing but mixing the flour and water just until mixed and the water is not seen anymore. Mixing too much will activate the gluten in the flour too much and interfere in absorption of water by the flour. Salt is never added to the flour during autolyse according to Raymond Calvel, inventor of autolyse as it inhibits the absorption process.

Note: Indian Chakki Atta (whole wheat flour) is preferred for this recipe.

Here is why western wheat flour is different from atta 


Here is how to make chapati dough
This is a 50% hydration dough. We will be using 1 cup flour to 1/2 cup water (by volume).

Put one cup of flour in a bowl. Add half a cup of water and mix with a spoon. We are not trying to knead anything yet. Just mix. When there is no more water visible, stop mixing. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.

soft-chapati-recipe-autolyse

After 30 minutes, add the salt, gently mix the dough for 2 minutes, just enough to gather the dough into one piece. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

soft-chapati-recipe-autolyse-mix

 

Divide the dough into lime size balls. Set an iron pan on medium high heat. Let it become hot. Take a dough ball and generously dust it with flour. Roll the dough into a 4 inch round on a flat smooth surface using a rolling pin. Place the chapati on the hot griddle. Let it cook for 10-15 seconds until bubbles start to form on top. Flip the chapati and cook for 30 seconds more. Gently press on top of the chapati to make the chapati fluff up. Flip one more time and press on top. Chapati should beautifully fluff up. If making phulkas, just flip on direct flame and it will fluff up. See video below for more details.

NOTE:

Some of you have complained that the dough being little sticky and rolling has been a problem. The wheat flour differs from place to place and from brand to brand. Its perfectly ok to mix in some dry flour to the dough to make it soft and pliable after the 30 minute rest. Chapati dough should not be sticky. You should be able to roll it well after the initial dusting in the flour. So feel free to add flour if need be. 

 

Two flip method.
Ensuring that the chapati is flipped only twice during cooking makes for a soft and fluffy chapati.

soft-chapati-recipe-autolyse-phulka

Storing chapatis
Line a bowl with cotton towel. Place the cooked chapati on the bowl and cover with a towel. Chapati will stay beautifully soft for a long time.

Here is the video of how to make soft chapati

4.6 from 30 reviews
Soft chapati recipe
 
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Recipe for making chapati and roti using autolyse technique. Chapathi stays soft for a long time without getting dry. No knead chapati dough.
Author:
Recipe type: Roti / Breads
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour, Atta
  • ½ Cup Water, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Put one cup of flour in a bowl. Add half a cup of water and mix with a spoon. When there is no more water visible, stop mixing. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
  2. After 30 minutes, add the salt, gently mix the dough for 2 minutes, just enough to gather the dough into one piece. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
  3. Divide the dough into lime size balls. Set an iron pan on medium high heat. Let it become hot. Take a dough ball and generously dust it with flour. Roll the dough into a 4 inch round on a flat smooth surface using a rolling pin. Place the chapati on the hot griddle. Let it cook for 10-15 seconds until bubbles starts to form on top. Flip the chapati and cook for 30 seconds more. Gently press on top of the chapati to make the chapati fluff up. Flip one more time and press on top. Chapati should beautifully fluff up. If making phulkas, just flip on direct flame and it will fluff up.
  4. Line a bowl with cotton towel. Place the cooked chapati on the bowl and cover with a towel. Chapati will stay beautifully soft for a long time.
Notes
The original idea of autolyse chapati is from Mr. Ramakrishnan, founder of OPOS - one pot one shot cooking technique

chapati

Suguna Vinodh

I'm Suguna Vinodh aka Kannamma. I love south Indian food and I am passionate about baking. My Favorite things include my Wusthof knife, Coffee, Ilayaraja, Tamil and beaches. I love Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.

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Comments

  3. Excellent information. Loved the measure of water (50%) and the details about autolyse and mixing salt after resting. This would be done intuitively by experts but always defeats the beginner like me!

    Reply

  5. Many thanks for the tips, is my understanding correct that after placing cooked roti in the bowl, cover the bowl with towel, please correct me if iam wrong.

    Reply

    • Hi Sandhya, Place a towel inside the bowl. Place the chapatis on the towel lined bowl. So the hot steam from hot chapatis will be absorbed by the towel, and the chapatis wont become soggy.

      Reply

  6. My dough was v thick .. N chapattis were a lil hard.. It did puff up but not so much.. Can I add lil more water ?

    Reply

  7. Thanks very much. You made the basics clear. I understood where I had been wrong. Thank you very much.
    Water is always a little less than half of the quantity of the flower taken

    Reply

  8. I tried your recipe and was so pleased that my chapati turned out great! Not all puffed up as in your video but those that did really made me so happy! Thank you for the detailed explanation and recipe. I’m so gonna make this again soon!

    Reply

  9. Hi
    I have a doubt
    If I was use totilla press instead of hand to make chapathi then the chapathi wasn’t fluffy and puffed
    So please give me any suggestions

    Reply

  10. I’m glad I came across this site! Saved a lot of my time and effort required. The chapathis turned out super soft. Thank you very much for sharing. Appreciate your help.

    Reply

  13. Hi, Love your blog and the 10 min kurma was awesome !! I tried my hand at this , twice and both the times the dough ended up way too sticky. It was soft, I could feel it, but really sticky, that I couldn’t roll it out. I had to use nearly another 0.5 cup of flour in rolling it out.

    Any idea what I could be doing wrong ? Are the timings strict ( 30 min blocks ) ? It was about 45 mins before I could add the salt, so did the 15 extra mins mess it up ?

    Reply

  14. Hi. I’m not sure what happened, however the dough continued to be moist making it quite sticky to cook.
    Any idea on what I should be doing differently?

    Reply

    • If the dough is very moist, add in more flour. Dont be afraid to add more flour. Everyone measures flour differently. Its perfectly ok to add a few tablespoons of flour if need be.

      Reply

  16. Hello

    Cant thank u enough cos I never could make chapathi and now with ur method, i get it perfectly right. I am also trying to add oats flour, besan and ragi flour…what ratio would u suggest for 1 cup of flour and how much water should I add?

    Reply

  17. I tried your recipe. 1/2 cup water for 1 cup flour is too much. Also in your video, you’ve certainly added more flour than mentioned.

    Reply

  18. Hi ..so was lookin at this recipe for the chapati..jus a small doubt..v don’t add salt to our chapatis..so do I still need to mix it at the end of 30 mins n let it rest again for 30 mins or r the first 30 mins good enough. .
    Thanks ?

    Reply

  19. This recipe finally came out right after several attempts. My first mistakes was i was using USA whole wheat flour instead of Atta. It was not puffing up. I finally got atta after reading your blog on why use atta instead of traditional whole wheat flour. Second i was pressing on the chapati too hard and it was not fluffing . I finally learnt the art of gently pressing on the chapatti and using atta flour and they have come out very well, repeatedly. My children love it .. thank you

    Reply

  21. Your method just saved me from Chapathi shame – the feeling that I can never figure it out ! It’s worked wonderfully well every single time and the Chapathi store well too ( that’s a plus!!!).
    Most days we come home late and it’s so hard waiting for a whole whopping hour to start rolling them out. Do you think if I make the dough in the morning it will turn out okay ? The same texture etc. such an odd conundrum… too little time to roll out in the morning and too log a time to wait to roll them in the evening. Let me know and thanks once again !

    Reply

  22. Thanks for the recipe. Please don’t make phulkas on direct LPG flame as it’s not good for health. Instead try wooden flame ?

    Reply

  23. Waoo.. I was just in need of this .I love you . this process is so simple . I wasted so much energy and time before. But now I would always wasn’t to make chapatis .hahahh .. Thank you very much mam.

    Reply

  24. Thank you thank you! I tried this out and the phulkhas came out just perfect! I had previously been kneading waaaay to much and messing it up.

    Reply

  25. Not a good recipe..not good website too.I have made worst chapati today by seeing this recipe.rolling is really very hard as the dough was more soft..

    Reply

    • This is an amazing website. Just because you tried a recipe and it didn’t work, please don’t say that it is not a good website. I have tried several recipes and all have come out AMAZING. Try out things and learn to ask questions if something goes wrong instead of placing blame. There could be many reasons this didn’t work for you (water hardness, quality and type of flour used, amount of water).

      Reply

    • You probably sure is her jealous neighbour , how rude u could be , I can imagine how vicious your mind is , let the almighty save us all from such vicious n worthless characters like u ,,,

      Reply

  26. Hello..I have tried this recipe 2 times.the dough becomes so soft that it is really very difficult to roll.even after adding so much wheat powder to make the dough manageable I was not able to make it proper.last week I had tried once.again today I have made chapathi using this recipe really felt very difficult to roll chapathi.so much dusting is needed

    Reply

  27. Thank-you very much,mam. I tried your recipe it was nice and tasty,really the way you present made me very impressive.

    With regards
    Alamelu Visagai

    Reply

  29. hi Kannamma.
    1 teaspoon salt is become more & more for one cup of wheat flour dough .i think its pinch of salt . sorry to say i think kindly cross check it once
    regards

    Reply

  30. Hey kannamma! Hope u r doing well…

    Just came across ur blog and had a glimpse of the recipes…very impressed by ur recipe collection! Will definitely start trying them soon.

    Well, I wanna know which is best in terms of healthy food, whole wheat flour or chakki atta?

    Reply

      • Oh ok…didn’t know that! Thanks for ur reply…

        So the nutritional content in both are same. Isn’t it? Or does it differ? I mean any loss in nutrients due to chakki milling process? Sorry to bother with questions again and again?

        Reply

  31. Just came across your blog. Wonderful collection of recipes. Tried the Madras chicken curry came out very well. Will be trying more recipes. Keep up the good work. 🙂

    Reply

  32. Suguna, such a thorough recipe and so scientific. I make it the same except for mixing the water and flour and resting in the beginning. Going to try this technique tonight. I know it is a everyday food for many of us, but reading your recipes are always a pleasure.

    Reply

  33. Hi,

    I am jusr learning to make chapatis. I had tried making them in the past without success, but this time I was able to find atta flour, which seems to be the key.

    I have tried them twice, and most of them puffed. They were delicious, though, and leftovers stayed soft in a plastic bag for lunch the next day. However, I did have some sticking and/or burning, both on a nonstick pan and a well seasoned iron frypan.

    The pans I have are used for other foods as well. I thought perhaps I should have a pan devoted only to chapatis or other flatbreads made without oil. So this morning I bought a new lodge cast iron griddle.

    I was looking for seasoning tips online and just found your site – I will try your recipe next! Before I do, though, can you give me some advice how best to season ny new pan before I use it? Should I use any oil at all on it, or maybe just rub it with flour or cornmeal? I don’t want the pan to have baked-on oil, which seem to cause the burnt spots. Also, what is the best griddle temperature?

    Unfortunatly, I am now in my winter home, and only have an electric stove here, much to my frustration.

    Also, can atta flour be used for other baking? I know it is not suitable for yeast breads. The smallest bag I could buy was 20 pounds, and there are only two of us.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi, to avoid the chapatis sticking, you can slightly grease the pan with a tissue dipped in oil. If the heat is high, the burning is more. Just grease the pan with a tissue before every chapati. That should solve the burning problem.
      You can see my post on how to season a pan to get more details on seasoning.
      http://www.kannammacooks.com/how-to-season-your-iron-dosa-pan/
      About using atta flour, you can use 50% all purpose flour and 50% atta flour in your regular yeast bread recipes and it works.

      Reply

  35. Hi Madam ,

    Nice description and vedio

    Tried this today , but when i added half cup water , the dough was a bit watery : Maybe the Atta which i used was the problem

    Did u recommend half cup water for all types of Attas ? ,or we need to add water gradually until we get a desired dough consistency.

    Thanks in advance

    Reply

  36. Hi. I have tried making chapathi many times but never got soft chapathis. Even if little soft they become hard in a few seconds. But thanks to your recipe my chapathi stayed soft even for half an hour after i made.. thanks a lot. Also chapathis became little rubbery since dough was slightly watery.how to avoid that?

    Reply

    • Thank you Deepika. Try to avoid adding lot of flour while rolling, Also I have noticed, resting the dough longer helps, After the final kneading, rest the dough for more time. These days I make the dough, do the final kneading 3-4 hours before. The resting helps in more softer / better chapati I feel.

      Reply

  38. I had read many of your recipes and specially loved the tale behind that.Thanks for this recipe and for the first time my chapatti’s came soft .

    Reply

  39. Had the best chapatis ever, using your recipe today, absolutely the best, didn’t even spread any ghee on afterward, they stayed soft for a long time. Thank you so much, keep up the great work 🙂

    Reply

  41. Hi, very nice mothod to prepare chapathi dough.. Thanks for saving our time and effort. I just want yo know if we can prepare it in the afternoon itself for making chapathis for dinner? Thank you.

    Reply

  42. Hi. This is the easiest chapati dough recipe. Takes the guessing out of dough making. I have used it 3 times already – made parathas though(the kind where you roll it out round once, coat with a little oil, fold and then roll out again as a triangle) not chapatis. My family loves this. Thank you.

    Reply

  44. Hi kannamma… The chapathis came out super soft.. probably for the first time as far as I can remember … Please please also post about how to make fluffed up Puris and parathas… Will be really indebted to you.. thanks again

    Reply

  46. Hi.. Thanks for the yummy recipes. Tried your chapathi. They fluffed up really well. But it was a bit on rubbery side after making. Not sure what I did wrong. I used oil after few attempts. Any other tricks you would recommend??

    Reply

  48. Hi.. Yesterday I tried ur idli recipe and it was so good..even dosa came out good from that batter.. today I tried ur roti recipe and that also came so soft.. I have never made such soft rotis.. thanks again for the wonderful tips..tc

    Reply

  49. Hello Suguna!

    So I saw this recipe last night and I was going to make it first thing in the morning…well, morning became early this evening but it didn’t matter…the result was excellent; soft roti! My son loves roti especially broken into pieces in a bowl of milk. He had two before bed. Love the format of both the text and videos of your recipes…hoping to try some more!

    Thank you,

    Faisal

    Reply

  50. Hi Suguna,

    I use lodge iron cast pan for chapathis and I’ve induction/coil stove due to which I cannot pluff up pulkas/chapati like we do on gas stove. My husband loves North Indian food as he lived there for few years. He always praises the chapatis once we had in a gurudwara. I’ve been trying hard to perfect my chapati recipe from few years but I always end up with harder chapathis even though I use ghee or oil while cooking. I tried placing them in hot box too. I tried hundreds of times, tried different recipes, watched many videos. They will be little soft but not very soft. 1) Can you please tell me some more tips on cooking softer chapatis on lodge iron cast pan? 2) Does over cooking chapatis make them harder? I doubt if I cook them little longer. 3) What heat is good like medium/low-medium/medium-high? 4) how do I determine if chapati is cooked properly. 4) should I roll the chapathi too thin? 5) can I get softer chapatis on iron pan without using oil/ghee?

    Reply

    • Softer dough makes softer chapatis. You can try the autolyse method for making dough and it produces really soft chapatis. The iron pan is just a medium and it is not an assurance for getting soft chapatis. The dough will determine the end product. So lodge or not, its fine. Try storing cooked chapatis in a hot box lined with a towel. The steam will keep them soft.

      Reply

  51. Suguna,
    I tried this using Aashirvad Atta , the dough was rubbery kind and did not fluff up. I saw it you have mentioned to use Chakki Fresh , Is there any specifications for Aashirvad ?

    Reply

  52. Hello Suguna,

    I’m a huge fan of your recepies and how clearly you explain them. Can you share a recepie of mayonnaise…?

    Reply

  53. Hi I love your recipes. I have tried your sambhar recipe. Turned out great. Do you have recipe for poori masala curry?
    Thanks
    Sugany

    Reply

  55. Hello. What pan do you recommend for frying chapatis? I used a non-stick one earlier but the dry frying tends to remove the Teflon coating. I’d like to purchase something that’s most suitable for this job and long lasting too. Thanks

    Reply

  56. Hi Suguna,
    Chappathi dough making process looks very different.I strongly believe on yours experiments.
    Would try soon. Mouth watering and fantastic video. Thank you very much for your efforts.

    Reply

  57. Hi mam I tried idly milagai podi.its so good and tasty.usually I like to read your recipes and the way you explained very clearly each recipes thank you so much mam.

    Reply