Indian breads are often reduced to a short and familiar list. Roti for everyday meals. Naan for restaurants. Bhature for indulgent weekends. While these breads matter, learning them is rarely where real skill begins. They are the starting line, not the point where most home cooks struggle or grow. This list takes a different approach. Instead of focusing on the most commonly eaten Indian breads, it focuses on the ones that teach something lasting. These breads demand technique, attention, and a willingness to understand dough and batter beyond wheat flour. They ask you to work with grains that do not stretch, batters that ferment slowly, and shapes that rely on hands rather than rolling pins. Each bread here comes from a specific region and food culture, but what connects them is the learning value. Mastering these once changes how you cook forever.
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Here Are 8 Indian Breads You Should Learn To Make At Least Once In Your Life:
1. Laccha Paratha
Laccha paratha is a lesson in lamination. Unlike a regular paratha, this bread depends entirely on how well the fat is layered and folded into the dough. The goal is not softness alone, but separation. When done right, the paratha peels apart into delicate layers.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Water as required
- Ghee for layering and cooking
Method:
Knead flour, salt, oil, and water into a soft dough. Rest for 15 minutes. Roll a portion into a thin sheet, brush generously with ghee, sprinkle flour lightly, and fold into a long strip. Coil into a spiral, rest briefly, then roll gently into a paratha. Cook on a hot tawa, flipping and applying ghee until crisp and layered.
Why It Matters:
Laccha paratha teaches patience, restraint, and structural control. Once you understand lamination here, layered breads become intuitive.
2. Roomali Roti
Roomali roti is one of the most technically demanding Indian breads. It is stretched until nearly transparent, cooked in seconds, and requires absolute confidence in dough handling.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups refined flour
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Water as required
Method:
Knead into a very soft, elastic dough. Rest thoroughly. Stretch portions by hand, rotating continuously until paper-thin. Cook quickly on an inverted tawa or flat pan until light brown spots appear.
Why It Matters:
Roomali roti teaches speed, muscle memory, and trust in your hands. It rewards practice more than precision.
3. Bhakri (Jowar Or Bajra)
Bhakri introduces non-gluten bread-making. Without elasticity, the dough cracks easily and must be handled gently and confidently.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup jowar or bajra flour
- Salt to taste
- Hot water as required
Method:
Mix flour and salt. Add hot water and rest briefly. Shape by patting with palms rather than rolling. Cook on a hot tawa, sprinkling water to prevent dryness, flipping until cooked through.
Why It Matters:
Bhakri teaches grain awareness. You learn how Indian breads adapt to climate, crops, and nutrition without relying on wheat.
4. Makki Di Roti
Makki di roti builds on the same principles as bhakri but requires even more restraint. It cracks easily, cooks slowly, and must remain thick.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups maize flour
- Salt to taste
- Hot water as required
- Ghee for cooking
Method:
Combine flour and salt. Add hot water, knead gently, and rest. Roll or pat into thick discs. Cook slowly with ghee, flipping carefully until golden.
Why It Matters:
This bread teaches acceptance. You stop forcing dough to behave and start working with it as it is.
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5. Thepla
Thepla is a spiced, vegetable-based flatbread designed for travel and storage. It balances moisture, spice, and fat within the dough itself.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup gram flour
- Salt and spices to taste
- Chopped methi
- Yoghurt and oil
- Water as required
Method:
Combine all ingredients into a soft dough. Roll thin and cook quickly on a tawa until cooked through but still soft.
Why It Matters:
Thepla teaches how flavour can live inside dough, not just on top of it. It is a real-life bread.
6. Missi Roti
Missi roti introduces mixed flours and spices into bread-making, changing texture, browning, and softness.
Ingredients:
- Whole wheat flour
- Gram flour
- Onion, spices, salt
- Oil and water
Method:
Knead into a medium-soft dough. Roll slightly thick and cook on a hot tawa with minimal oil.
Why It Matters:
Missi roti teaches balance. Mixed flours behave differently, and this bread sharpens judgment.
7. Appam
Appam moves away from dough entirely and into fermented batter. It is delicate, precise, and deeply regional.
Ingredients:
- Rice flour or soaked rice
- Coconut
- Yeast or fermented starter
- Salt
Method:
Ferment batter until airy. Ladle into a hot appam pan, swirl gently, cover, and cook until the centre is soft and edges are crisp.
Why It Matters:
Appam teaches fermentation control and heat management without wheat.
8. Akki Roti
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Akki roti is shaped entirely by hand and relies on moisture from vegetables rather than elasticity.
Ingredients:
- Rice flour
- Grated vegetables
- Salt and spices
- Water as required
Method:
Mix into a loose dough. Pat directly onto a greased surface or cloth. Transfer carefully to a hot tawa and cook slowly.
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Why It Matters:
Akki roti teaches confidence and touch. It is deceptively simple and very easy to get wrong.
These breads are not about familiarity. They are about understanding. Together, they teach lamination, fermentation, non-gluten handling, batter cooking, moisture balance, and heat control. They represent different regions, grains, and lived food cultures. Learning them once reshapes how you approach Indian cooking entirely. These are not just recipes. They are skills.