Flatbread Pizza!
A new favorite of mine. My mom and I ate at Chili’s last week and they have a new flatbread appetizer. We did the 2 for $20 deal so we got an appetizer with our meal. We ordered the Chicken Chipolte flatbread, but our waiter accidentally hit the Margherita flatbread instead. OMG was that mistake ever a good one. I don’t think we could have enjoyed anything anymore than we did that flatbread. We’ve decided to go back and order flatbread with a salad and make a meal out of that.
And of course, when I find something I absolutely love I have to share it here on my blog. I am NOT claiming this recipe will give you as good as a restaurants, but you can try it and see if you like it.
Flatbread Crust
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cups (6 oz.) lukewarm water
- 1 tsp. active-dry or instant yeast
- 2 cups (10 oz.) unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 500°F and let heat for at least a half an hour. If you have a pizza stone, put that in to get hot as the oven preheats.
Combine water and yeast in a mixing bowl, stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour and salt and mix until it forms a ball of dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface along with any loose flour still in the bowl. Knead until all the flour is incorporated, and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should still feel moist and slightly tacky. Add more flour (1 tbsp. at a time) if it is sticking to your hands or the counter. Let the dough rise or double in size for at least an hour and a half. Use all or refrigerate unused portion up to 3 days.
Using two 12″ pieces of parchment paper, divide dough in two pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape it into a large disk with your hands and lay it on the parchment paper. Work from the middle of the dough outwards with the heel of your hand to gently press and stretch the dough until it’s about 1/4 of an inch thick or less. For a thinner crust use a rolling pin. The dough will stick to the parchment paper making it easier to roll out. Leaving the crust on the paper, add toppings and bake for 5 minutes. The parchment will release from the crust and you can remove it when you rotate the pizza before baking it another 3-5 minutes, or the crust is golden brown and the cheese looks toasty.
Margherita Pizza
- 1 lb. (2 large) ripe summer tomatoes or 1 16 oz. can whole or diced tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup loosely packed basil, sliced into ribbons
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, sliced
- Salt and pepper
Cut tomatoes into wedges and trim away the stem area, squeezing wedges over a bowl to remove the excess juice and seeds. Combine the tomatoes with the garlic and half of the basil in a food processor or blender. Process until the tomatoes break down into a sauce, scraping down the sides as needed. Spread a light layer of sauce over the unbaked flatbread. Top with half of the slices of mozzarella. Leave some space between the pieces. Transfer the flatbread to the baking sheet and bake, sprinkling with more basil when you removed it from the oven. Cool briefly before slicing and serving.
Leanne Tyler 