Chapati and roti dough calculator
Unleavened whole-wheat flatbread: atta, hot water at 75%, a little oil and salt, rested and cooked on a dry skillet in under two minutes.
Chapati, roti and phulka are the everyday flatbread of the Indian subcontinent: whole-wheat atta, hot water, a little salt and oil, no leavening. The dough rests, is rolled thin and cooks in under two minutes on a dry skillet, puffing if you hold it over a flame.
How it works
The dough
King Arthur’s roti: 226 g of whole wheat flour, a teaspoon of salt, 25 g of oil rubbed into the flour, then 170 g of hot water (75%). Mix to a shaggy dough, cover, rest ten minutes, knead briefly and rest again 30 minutes to an hour. Hot water softens the bran; so does the oil, and it makes the dough easier to roll.
Rolling and cooking
Twelve pieces of about 35 g, rolled to 15 cm. A cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat: about a minute until bubbles show on top, flip, 20 to 30 seconds more. For a puffed roti, hold each one over a low gas flame with tongs for three to five seconds. Brush with ghee if you like and stack them in a towel so they stay soft.
How much water
Dassana’s recipe on 360 g of atta calls for one to one and a quarter cups, added in parts while kneading, because flours differ; Swasthi’s three quarters of a cup on two cups of flour and Ministry of Curry’s cup on two cups say the same thing in different measures. The dough should be soft, not sticky and not crumbly.
Sources & methodology
Every percentage in this calculator traces to the published sources below — nothing is invented. Where respected sources disagree, the default sits inside the documented range.
- King Arthur Baking — Roti — The anchor: 226 g of whole wheat flour, 170 g of hot water, 25 g of oil, a teaspoon of salt; 12 roti of about 35 g, rested 10 then 30–60 minutes, a minute plus 20–30 seconds on a cast-iron skillet.
- King Arthur Baking — Whole Grain Flatbread (Chapati) — The same dough at half the salt: 113 g of flour, 85 g of hot water, a spoon of oil, a quarter teaspoon of salt; six 18 cm flatbreads, 15 minutes’ rest.
- Dassana’s Veg Recipes — Roti, Chapati, Phulka — The Indian reference, by volume: 360 g of atta (three cups) to one to one and a quarter cups of water added in parts, salt and oil optional; 15 roti. Hot water for lunchbox roti.
- Swasthi’s Recipes — Chapati — Three quarters of a cup of hot water on two cups of chakki atta, salt optional, a spoon of oil; hot water softens the bran, rest 30 minutes to two hours.
- Ministry of Curry — Chapati — The wet end by volume: a cup of water on two cups of atta, “adjust as needed”, with two spoons of oil and a teaspoon of salt; eight chapatis.
FAQ
Which flour?
Atta, the finely stone-ground whole wheat sold in South Asian shops. King Arthur uses its own golden whole wheat; regular whole wheat works, with a little more water if the bran is coarse. Dassana sieves a bran-heavy flour first.
Why hot water?
It softens the bran, so the chapati are softer and stay soft longer. Swasthi and Dassana both say so, and Dassana uses hot water specifically for lunchboxes. Hot from the tap or kettle, not boiling.
How much salt?
A teaspoon on 226 g in King Arthur’s roti (2.7%), a quarter teaspoon on 113 g in its chapati (1.3%). Dassana and Swasthi both mark the salt optional.
Can I make the dough ahead?
Swasthi rests hers up to two hours at room temperature. Cooked roti keep two days in the fridge in an airtight box; King Arthur reheats them between damp paper towels for ten seconds.
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