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I'm very much a bread making novice; are pita, naan and chapatis breads the only recipe types that should be used in this cooking method?

Yup - this is the way my grandmother has always made her rotis

I've been making roti about 2x week this way. Only I just toast it 30 seconds to a minute or so on each side and then put on an open flame very briefly to puff up. I much prefer to make my pita breads in the oven for speed and lack of fuss.

we have always made roti much like Dcarl1 describes

we have a flat pan (which i think is called a tava) which we first fry the roti on then we have a little circular wire rack with legs that fits right over another burner to puff it up. Then into a basket lined with a towel or paper. Makes a neat little assembly line.

Although I have found if i keep the dough it doesn't inflate... how do you store the dough Emma? plastic wrap? ziplock bag? lidded container? i have tried many things and they dont puff up if the dough is a day old or more. I wonder if it might have something to do with my high elevation?

Corn tortillas are made pretty much this way, too! 1 cup masa harina to 3/4 (ish) cup warm water. Roll into 1-oz balls, flatten under a skillet to about 5 inches. Cook thirty seconds on one side, flip and cook til it puffs, flip and cook about 15 more seconds. Makes about 8 tortillas. Store-bought tortillas do not compare...

@hobsy - most bread dough recipes are roughly the same ratios of flour and water with only slight variations, so I think almost any recipe could be made on the stovetop if the dough is cut into portions and rolled out flat! Try the pita bread recipe I link to at the bottom of the post - it's a good one for beginners and also the one I've been making all summer.

@adamwa - I usually store the dough in a lidded plastic container. A ziplock bag works well too, though I find it hard to get all the dough out. I don't have much experience with high-elevation baking though, so I'm afraid I can't advise on that. Can anyone else here?!

I love the technique of putting the baked flatbread over the open flame! I'll have to give it a try.

This is such an easy and delicious way to make bread. I use an indoor cast iron grill and grill it you can even make a grill top pizza this way.. yum :)

This looks very simple- I am bookmarking to give it a try!

I make chapatis on the stove in an enameled cast-iron skillet and don't need oil. Also, to puff them (on an electric stove), put a cooling rack over the burner and turn it up to HIGH (just make sure the rack legs don't actually touch the heating element). Sort of heats up the kitchen but YUM. I use the recipe in Lord Krishna's Cuisine by Yamuna Devi.

I tried this (finally) and it was brilliant. I actually think it works better than the oven version-at least it did for me.