Gluten Free Flat Bread

Week 508. Winter 2025. I am 42 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like soup and bread and this is my life. This is the life I built.

The garden is sleeping under mulch, resting for spring, and I stood in it this week and thought about dirt and time and the way both of them turn nothing into something if you're patient enough.

Mason is 14 and navigating middle school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.

Lily is 12 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.

I made shepherd's pie this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

The shepherd’s pie was already in the oven when I started the bread — and it’s that bread, warm and plain and reliable, that really made the house smell the way it did, the way I described it, the way I wanted it to smell. I’ve been making this gluten free flat bread on and off for years now, through all the versions of me, and it never asks too much: just a bowl, a pan, a few quiet minutes. That’s exactly what a week like this one calls for.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour blend
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup warm water, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for cooking

Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder if using.
Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the Greek yogurt, warm water, and olive oil. Mix until a soft, pliable dough forms. If the dough feels too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it comes together without crumbling.
Divide and shape. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface (use gluten free flour). Divide into 6 equal portions and roll or press each one into a thin round, roughly 1/4 inch thick.
Cook the flat breads. Heat a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium-high heat and brush lightly with olive oil. Cook each flat bread for 2—3 minutes per side, until golden spots appear and the edges look set. Work in batches and keep finished breads wrapped in a clean towel to stay soft.
Serve warm. Serve immediately alongside soup, stew, or shepherd’s pie. These are best eaten the day they’re made but can be reheated briefly in a dry pan the next day.

Nutrition (per serving)

Gluten Free Flat Bread — The Bread That Fills the House