Flatbread Pizza

You’ll love flatbread pizza because the recipe is quicker and easier than regular pizza dough, the base is golden-brown, crisp, and tender, and it is a blank canvas for your favorite toppings.

We saw this recipe for the first time in a small restaurant in Berlin called “W the Imbiss”, and we immediately fell in love with the concept.

You can cook the flatbread pizza on a baking sheet or a pizza stone in a standard oven. You can even cook it in a skillet or a pizza oven.

For the toppings, you can use whatever you want.

We recommend a classic Italian topping with tomato and mozzarella. A Greek-inspired one with sun-dried tomato pesto, olives, and yogurt.

A Californian one with mashed avocado and chipotle sauce. And a Middle-Eastern one (Nico’s favorite) with hummus, crumbled falafel, tahini sauce, and pickled onions.

Similar recipes: Ooni pizza dough, no-knead focaccia, focaccia pizza.

• Flour: We use all-purpose flour. Alternatively, you can use bread flour or 50% all-purpose and 50% whole-wheat flour.
  
• Water: Plain tap water, best if lukewarm, to accelerate proofing. Avoid hot water, as it will kill the yeast.
  
• Yeast: We use instant dry yeast, which does not need to be dissolved in water. Substitute active dry yeast in the same quantities or fresh yeast.
  
  If you use fresh yeast, you’ll need 3x more than instant dry yeast.
  
  Regardless of the type of yeast you use, read the instructions on the back of the yeast package to ensure you use it the right way.
  
• Sugar: Sugar is optional, but if you are short on time, sugar helps speed up the proofing, and it helps the flatbreads get a golden-brown color in the oven.
  
• Salt: We recommend sea salt or kosher salt.

• Rosemary: extra virgin olive oil, rosemary needles, and a generous pinch of salt.
  
• Italian: chopped mozzarella cheese or vegan cheese, fresh tomatoes or tomato puree, basil, salt, pepper, oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil.
  
• Greek: sun-dried tomato pesto, olives, salad leaves (we use watercress and radicchio), and yogurt.
  
• Californian: mashed avocado, mixed salad leaves (we use watercress and arugula), chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and chipotle sauce.
  
• Nico’s topping suggestion: top with a layer of homemade hummus, extra virgin olive oil, crumbled falafel, and drizzle with tahini sauce, chopped parsley, pickled onions, and a pinch of sumac.

Start with the dough

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast with lukewarm water and sugar.

Add flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon till you get a dough.

Transfer onto a worktop and knead for about 5 minutes till soft and elastic.

If the dough is too sticky, add some extra flour, a little at a time. Depending on the temperature, altitude, humidity, and type of flour, you might need to adjust the quantities slightly.

Let the dough rise

Put the dough into a well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen cloth, leaving enough space between the dough and the fabric.

Let proof in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until it doubles in volume.

Tip: We recommend profing in a slightly warm oven that you turn on for 30 seconds, then off. If your oven allows it, leave the light on. This will provide enough warmth for the dough to prove.

Transfer the dough onto a clean worktop and fold it on itself four times.

Cut the dough into four pieces, then shape each into a smooth ball. Cover with a baking dish turned upside down and rest for 30 minutes.

Shape the dough

Preheat the oven to 480°F or 250°C.

Add some flour to a plate, then dip the first dough ball into the flour on both sides. Shake excess flour away, and flatten the dough with your hands.

Push down the dough from the center and stretch it out as you press, giving it an oval shape.

You can use a rolling pin, but doing it with your hands will make for lighter and fluffier flatbreads.

Baking with toppings

Arrange the flatbreads on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Add pizza sauce, chopped mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of oregano.

Alternatively, make one with chopped mozzarella, fresh tomato slices, a pinch of salt, olive oil, and oregano.

Bake in the lower rack of a preheated oven at 480°F or 250°C for 5 to 7 minutes, then use the broiler function for the last minute to make it golden-brown on top.

Chop into slices and serve immediately.

Baking without topping

Arrange flatbreads on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and pierce with a fork.

Bake in a preheated oven at 480°F or 250°C for 5 to 7 minutes.

Nico’s topping suggestion

We love Levantine and Middle-Eastern food, so I couldn’t resist experimenting with flavors from those regions.

Bake the flatbread without topping, then cover it with a generous layer of hummus. Add extra virgin olive oil and crumble some freshly made falafel on the hummus.

Now drizzle with tahini sauce, add a pinch of fresh parsley, and top with pickled red onions and a pinch of sumac.

Rosemary

Before baking, top the flatbread with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, rosemary needles, and a pinch of sea salt (or coarse sea salt).

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes at 480°F or 250°C.

Greek-Style

Bake the flatbread without toppings, then spread sun-dried tomato pesto and garnish with mixed salad leaves (we use radicchio and watercress) and Kalamata olives.

Drizzle with Greek-style yogurt diluted with water and enjoy.

Californian-style

Bake the flatbread without toppings, then top it with a generous amount of mashed avocado (mash it with a fork in a bowl).

Season with a pinch of salt and garnish with watercress, arugula, and a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

Optionally, drizzle with chipotle sauce.

Pizza stone: Preheat your pizza stone in the oven at maximum temperature for 30 minutes before cooking the flatbread pizza. Cooking time is between 4 and 7 minutes.

Pizza oven: You can cook this flatbread pizza recipe in a pizza oven like Ooni or another brand. Preheat the pizza oven for about 30 minutes, or the time it takes for the stone base to reach about 750°F or 400°C. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds.

Cast Iron skillet: Use this type of cooking if you want a soft and fluffy flatbread that you can use to dip in curries, sauces, or hummus or that you can top with light toppings.

This type of cooking is not suitable for cheesy toppings. Warm up the pan until it’s hot, then turn the heat low.

Cook for about 1.5 to 2 minutes on each side.

Make ahead: Flatbread pizza is best eaten immediately. If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in a dark corner of your kitchen for up to a day.

If the topping has dairy, store it in the fridge. Reheat them in the oven or air-fryer before eating them.

Refrigerator: You can make the dough in advance and let it sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Remove it from the refrigerator for 2 hours before shaping it into dough balls.

Freezer: It’s best to freeze the dough after the first proofing. Shape the dough into balls, put them in an airtight container, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw at room temperature for a few hours before flattening the balls.

• Focaccia
• Eggplant pizza
• Marinara sauce
• Mini pizzas
• Tomato Bruschetta

For many more bread ideas, check out our bread category page.