The flour used to make roti is a form of wheat flour. It’s typically referred to as chapatti atta, or chapatti flour. It’s NOT the same as any standard supermarket flour, even if it’s wholemeal or bread flour – in fact, it’s a complete different category. So, if you’re serious about making roti, you’ll need to make a purchase specifically for chapatti flour.
So, how do you make the right choice? What should you be looking out for? This post will help you with just that…
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Where can I buy Chapatti flour?
If you’re in the UK, chapatti flour is pretty readily available in large superstores like Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys etc. If you live in an area with a sizeable South Asian population, it may not be hard to find a South Asian speciality store which will have a larger variety of chapatti flours available.
If you’re not within close proximity to a store with chapatti flour available, you can order online – there are several South Asian online stores at the tip of a Google search which ship our products like chapatti flour.
Best brands of chapatti flour
To make matters as simple as possible for you, you don’t need to think too hard about which chapatti flour to pick – you can just pick from my recommendations 😉
I’ve been making roti for over ten years now, and I’ve been watching my Mum making it for over double that time. We’ve been through A LOT of different brands of chapatti flour.
One thing I’m adamant about is the quality of your chapatti flour makes a huge, HUGE difference to how easy it is to knead and roll out your dough, and how good your roti cooks.
A high quality chapatti flour will knead into a tender, pliable and smooth dough. It’ll be stretchy, easy to handle and soft to roll out. When cooked, your roti should be pliable, shouldn’t turn stiff, and again, soft.
My favourite brands, in no particular order, are:
You may notice these cost more than other varieties of chapatti flour out there. It’s definitely a case of ‘you get what you pay for’ here. I’ve tried several budget chapatti flours and been punished with gummy, stiff dough and tough, flat rotis that have made me question my entire existence. Never again.
What about Elephant Atta?
Am I fan of Elephant Atta, the most popular chapatti flour in the UK? Sadly, I’m NOT a fan of Elephant Atta in any capacity – in fact, it’s been the worst offender out all the budget flours I’ve tried. The dough is unbearably rubbery to knead and roll out, and the rotis are never pliable or of a good quality. AVOID if you can.
Wholemeal, medium or white?
Just like bread, chapatti flour can vary based on it’s fibre content.
White chapatti flour will feel similar in texture to white flour. It’s smooth, light and the lightest in colour of the three. It also has the lowest fibre content.
Medium chapatti flour sits at the mid-level between white and wholemeal. It’s smooth but without the heaviness, and of a medium-brown colour. It also served as a mid-point in terms of fibre content.
Wholemeal chapatti flour is the healthiest, highest fibre flour of these three. It’s also the darkest in colour, densest and heaviest. Think of how brown bread is denser and heavier than white bread – it’s the same concept here, too.
Which chapatti flour you’ll prefer will depend on your own preference. I personally use medium chapatti flour as a happy middle ground 😄
What is Chakki flour?
Chakki refers to the way the wheat grains are ground into flour. Chakki flour means the wheat has been ground in a flour mill, and is therefore very finely ground and smooth. This is a good thing, and ideally you don’t to look for Chakki flour when choosing a chapatti flour.
Admittedly, most chapatti flour in the market outside of Pakistan will be Chakki, so this may be a non-issue for you.
Why is some chapatti flour labelled ‘Gold’, ‘Premium’, etc?
You’ll often see buzzwords like this plastered onto packaging.
‘Gold’ simply indicates a higher quality and you may find ‘Gold’ chapatti flour will cost more than non-gold chapatti flours. Similarly, ‘Premium’ also indicates a higher quality.
Ultimately, these buzzwords are not regulated in any way, unlike Chakki vs non-Chakki, and white/medium/wholegrain, so they should be taken with a grain of salt.
Do you have a recipe for chapatti dough?
I do, in the form of a YouTube video! You can watch the video below:
This chapatti flour guide is an evolving post I will continue to update as required, as per demand. If you have any questions you’d like me to include in this post, please leave a comment below to let me know!
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