People blame the atta first. It is usually fourth on the list.
1. Not enough water
This is the most common cause by a distance. Roti dough should be noticeably softer than you think — soft enough that it just barely stops sticking to your fingers. A firm dough is easier to roll and produces a harder roti. If you have switched to freshly milled atta, note that it generally absorbs more water than the flour you were using, so your old ratio will now give you a stiff dough.
2. Not enough resting
After kneading, cover the dough and leave it at least 20 minutes; 30 is better. This lets the flour fully hydrate and the gluten relax. Rolling immediately after kneading fights the dough and tightens it.
3. The tawa is not hot enough
A roti wants a short time on a hot surface, not a long time on a moderate one. If it is sitting there slowly drying out, it will be leathery no matter how good the dough was. Heat the tawa properly before the first roti goes on.
4. Storage after cooking
Stack them in a cloth-lined container with a lid, immediately. Steam kept in the stack is what keeps them soft. Rotis left uncovered on a plate for ten minutes are already going.
5. And then, the flour
Old wholemeal flour does behave differently. As the germ oxidises the dough tends to be less extensible and the finished roti drier. This is a real effect, but it is a gradual one — if your rotis have been hard for months, work through the four points above before changing your atta.
A short diagnostic
- Hard straight off the tawa → dough too firm, or tawa too cool.
- Soft at first, hard within ten minutes → storage.
- Tears while rolling → under-rested, or a low-gluten wheat rolled too thin.
- Will not puff → uneven rolling, or not enough heat.