One easy flatbread recipe is to take any simple Italian bread recipe (flour, yeast, water, small amount of sugar, bit of salt) and instead of forming it into loaves, roll it into balls, flatten the balls and then roll them out - if you want thick flatbread about 1/4 inch if you want really thing bread, as flat as you can get and not tear the dough.
Cook on a hot griddle (cast iron works best but you can use even a no-stick fry pan) for a minute to three minutes on each side, flip it when it bubbles up (if really flat) or starts to brown. You made need to flip a few times to get it done - then remove it from the griddle and place it in a warm towel (or foil) to keep warm and steaming while you cook the rest.
You can do this with almost any bread recipe and it is a great way to deal with dough that refuses to rise, even if you forgot to put the yeast in (it happens).
You can get great recipes online - variations on these types of bread exist all over the world made with various flours and go from plain to spicey, savory to sweet.
Some are made with baking powder (or baking soda) sourdough, or without leveling at all.
For a special treat, you can deep fry them, though that takes more oil and time - a good cast iron griddle will just need a touch of oil, especially if there is olive oils, butter, or another oil in the bread dough itself.
My basic recipe for Italian bread/griddle bread dough is:
5 cups strong white flour (you can vary this a lot)
1 3/4 liquid (water, whey, or a mix of water and yogurt)
2 tsp quick yeast.
1tsp sugar
1/2 to 2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
In most bread bakers:
put in yeast and sugar together with the oil
Add the flour, and then the salt on top (this keeps it away from the yeast)
Add liquid
Mix on dough or pizza cycle
Form into long loaves and rise a second time and cook about 400/180 in an oven with a pan of water underneath (makes a harder crust).
or
Spilled into 6 to 8 balls, flatten tops, roll out and cook on the griddle (they don't need to rise again).
For pizza, bases roll out to fit pan or cookie sheet, cook for 12 minutes in a hot oven, remove to add topics, and cook another 10 to 13 minutes.
For French Bread omit the oil - note this bread will only last 24 hours or so before going stale and will need an oiled griddle.
To knead by hand, watch a good youtube video on kneading bread, this bread is ready when you can stick your finger into the ball of dough and it indents and kind of pushes back (this is hard to describe and easier to watch).
Variations:
Add herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, etc depending on what you like
Use Juices (like tomato) or broth for liquid (if you use a meat broth eat right away or keep the bread in the fridge)
Use up to 1/2 whole wheat flour and be ready to add up to 1/8 to 1/4 cup more liquid if it needs it
Add an egg and use milk for 1/2 of the liquid for a softer bread, you can also add up to 1/4 cup shredded cheese (really good with tomato juice).
Up to 1/2 cup raisins, sweet spices, and a bit of extra sugar for a sweet bread (no more than 1/2 cup sugar, I use 1/4).
In other words, the is a very creative basic recipe that works in most bread bakers.
If you have a slightly smaller bread baker try
4 cups flour to 1 1/2 cups liquid, the rest of the measurements stay about the same
or
2 cups flour to 3/4 cups liquid but cut the other ingredients by about half except the sugar, it still needs at least a tsp for the yeast to rise.
Hope that helps and gets everyone started -
Once you get the hang of this you can do tricks like melted butter instead of olive oil (or vegetable oil), lard, add 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes/mashed pumpkin/pureed vegetables, left over oatmeal and the like to the liquid, and stir, all sorts of things.
But you want to get the basic feel of what the dough should be like first.
If you don't have someone that can show you the first time, YouTube is your friend!
Good luck and Happy Bread Baking - I learned how about 1979 and I've never stopped since...