ABSTRACT
Preparation of Indian flatbreads requires skill and is often considered to be an art in Indian society. Cereal flour (predominantly wheat), water, salt, oil and certain optional ingredients like leavening agents and seasonings are used as raw materials. The basic steps involved in flatbread making are dough kneading, dough sheeting or rolling and baking. Chapatti, the unleavened staple Indian bread, is made from whole wheat flour and is baked on a heated griddle (tawa) followed by puffing on a direct flame. The quality of chapatti/flatbread is influenced by its ingredients as well as by the method of preparation. Whole wheat flour or refined wheat flour are the major ingredients of Indian flatbreads. Water and other minor or optional ingredients like oil, soda, curd and live culture also contribute to end product quality. Flatbread manufacturers should have a sound knowledge of wheat chemistry and the science underlying flatbread making. This chapter discusses the step-wise preparation of chapatti and two other popular Indian flatbreads: paratha and naan. This chapter also gives a detailed description of ingredients used in the preparation of flatbread, with special emphasis on chemical constituents of wheat such as proteins, starch, non-starch polysaccharides, lipids, enzymes, micronutrients and antinutrients.
