Flatbread

Flatbread is bread made from flattened dough and cooked on a hot surface, in an oven, or over a fire. It is often unleavened or only lightly leavened.

Wheat flour: A powder made by milling wheat grains, used widely in bread dough. Its gluten-forming proteins give many wheat flatbreads their stretch and chew.
Tortilla: A thin round flatbread made from maize or wheat, central to Mexican cuisine. Tortillas wrap fillings, accompany meals, and provide a distinct maize-based tradition.
Tandoor: A cylindrical clay or metal oven heated by a fire, used across parts of South and Central Asia. Its radiant heat and hot walls bake naan and other breads rapidly.
Ohalo II: A submerged Upper Paleolithic archaeological site on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Grinding tools and plant remains there provide evidence of early cereal processing.
Leavened bread: Bread whose dough expands through gas produced by yeast, chemical agents, or fermentation. Many flatbreads are unleavened or lightly leavened, unlike substantially risen loaves.
Gluten: A network of wheat proteins that forms when flour is hydrated and worked. Gluten development determines whether a dough rolls easily or resists shaping.
Pita: A round wheat flatbread that often forms an interior pocket when baked. Its pocket makes pita especially suited to holding fillings.
Comal: A flat cooking griddle used in Mexican and Central American cuisines. Comals cook tortillas directly and evenly on a hot surface.
Natufian culture: A Levantine archaeological culture associated with the transition from foraging to settled life. Natufian sites preserve evidence of wild cereal use before widespread agriculture.
Sourdough bread: Bread leavened by a fermented culture of wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. Its tall, aerated loaf form contrasts with the thin profile of most flatbreads.

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