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This flatbread pizza recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients. You'll get flatbreads that are soft but with a crunch, light, and that can be topped just like a regular pizza.
You can cook the flatbreads in 3 different ways: on a baking tray in the oven, in a pan, and on a pizza stone.
We top the flatbreads with 3 of our favorite toppings that we call the Italian (melted cheese, basil, and tomatoes), the Greek (sun-dried tomato pesto, olives, and yogurt), and the Californian (mashed avocado and a quick chipotle sauce).
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What is flatbread pizza?
Flatbread pizza is like a hybrid between a flatbread and a pizza and it's absolutely delicious.
I saw this done for the first time in a small restaurant in Berlin (Germany), and I immediately fell in love with it and had to recreate it for the blog.
It's perfect for a big brunch with friends or with a fun family dinner where everyone is free to build their own flatbread pizza with different toppings and sauces.
The base is made with our basic pizza dough recipe (water, yeast, salt, and a little sugar).
Watch a short video story on how to make flatbread pizza here.
Ingredients & Substitutions
For the flatbread pizza dough
- Flour: we use all purpose flour. You can also use bread flour if you prefer, and even a 50-50 mix between wholewheat flour and bread flour. In this case though it will take longer to prove.
- Yeast: we use instand dry yeast, the kind that does not need to be dissolved in water. You can use also active dry yeast in the same quantities.
Alternatively, you can use fresh yeast, but in that case you'll need 3 times more than instant dry yeast.
Regadless the type of yeast you use, always read the instructions on the back of the package of the yeast to make sure you use it the right way. - Water: plain lukewarm water. You want the water to be lukewarm to support yeast activity. Do not use cold or hot water.
- Sugar: just a teaspoon of plain sugar to help the yeast do their job and to help the flatbread get some golden-brown colour in the oven.
- Salt: optional but recommended.
For the toppings
The Italian: we use our homemade melted vegan cheese that you can make in 5 minutes in a pot, basil, tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil.
The Greek: we use our sun-dried tomato pesto that you can make in 5 minutes in a blender, olives, salad leaves (we use watercress and radicchio), and unsweetened soy yogurt.
The Californian: we use mashed avocado, mixed salad leaves (we use watercress and arugula), chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and our delicious quick chipotle sauce that you can make in 30 seconds with an immersion blender.
The Classic dressing: before applying any of our toppings, we brush the flatbread with a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic, parsley, and salt, to help the flatbread stay moist and to give it extra flavor.
Equipment
I like to mix the dough by hand but you can use a kitchen aid if you prefer.
Aside from that, you'll just need a clean surface, like a large cutting board or your kitchen worktop, to shape the flatbread.
If you want to cook your flatbread pizza on a pizza stone, then you need that too.
How to make flatbread pizza
Make the dough
Making the dough of our flatbread pizza is very simple and it can be made both by hand or in a kitchen aid.
In a bowl (or in the bowl of your kitchen aid) dissolve the yeast with lukewarm water and sugar. This will help the yeast get activated.
It's important the water is neither hot, nor cold, but lukewarm. Hot water kills the yeast while cold water makes it inactive.
Add the flour to the water, then add the salt. Mix with a spoon until you form a dough.
Transfer the dough onto a worktop and knead vigorously with your hands for about 5 minutes then shape it into a ball. The dough should be elastic at this point.
If the dough is too sticky, add some extra flour, a little at a time. Depending on temperature, altitude, humidity, and type of flour, you might need to adjust the quantities a little.
Proof the dough
Put the dough ball into a well-oiled bowl. The bowl should be large enough so that the dough has enough space to double in volume during proofing.
Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen cloth, leaving enough space between the dough and the cloth.
Let proof in a turned-off but warm oven until it doubles in volume. To warm up the oven, turn it on for 30 seconds, then turn it off.
If your oven allows it, leave the light on. This will provide enough warmth for the dough to prove perfectly.
It should take between 1 hour and 2 hours depending on how much yeast you add. If you follow my quantities it should take about 1.5 hours to double in volume.
TIP: you can also let the dough proof overnight (or throughout the day) in the refrigerator.
Shape the dough
If you prefer you can watch our video linked below to learn the technique.
Transfer the proved dough onto a clean worktop and fold it on itself 4 times. Do not add flour at this stage, the oil you coated the bowl with should be enough to prevent the dough from sticking.
Cut the dough into 4 pieces, then shape each piece into a smooth ball.
Add some flour to a plate, then dip the first dough ball into the flour, on both sides. Shake excess flour away, and start flattening the dough with your hands.
Flatten the dough with the tip of your fingers, putting your hands close together. Push down the dough from the center, and stretching it out as you press, giving it an oval shape.
You can use a rolling pin if you prefer, but doing it with your hands will make for lighter and fluffier flatbreads.
Set each flatbread aside, or on a baking tray lined with parchment paper to allow for a quick second proofing of about 15 to 30 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 480F or 250C.
Cook the flatbread
Cook in the oven
You can bake your flatbread without toppings and then add them later on. Or you can bake it with toppings like cheese and tomatoes. Let's see both ways.
TIP: For best results, cook on a baking tray that has a low rim, or even better on a baking sheet.
Cooking without toppings
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper, then put the flatbread on it and pierce it several times with a fork. This will prevent it from bubbling up and turning into pita bread.
Drizzle with a little olive oil, then bake in a preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes at 480F or 250C. Each oven is a little different, so keep an eye on them.
Take out of the oven and brush with the oil, garlic, parsley mix. Then top with your favorite toppings or see our "toppings suggestions" chapter below.
Cooking with toppings
You can also add some toppings before baking the flatbread pizza. To do that, put the flatbread on a baking tray and pierce it several times with a fork.
Then add your toppings. Here we add our dairy-free stracchino cheese with tomatoes and oregano.
Bake for about 5 minutes at 480F or 250C, then use the grill function for the last minute to make it golden on top.
TIP: use this type of cooking if you want a flatbread pizza that you can top with anything you like. The flatbread will be crunchy, but still light and airy.
TIP: If you want an even crunchier flatbread pizza, then you can cook them on a pizza stone. All you need to do is to preheat the pizza stone well, then cook the flatbread on it for about 5 minutes.
Cook on a pan
Use this type of cooking if you want a soft and fluffy flatbread that you can use to dip in curries, sauces, hummus, or that you can top with light toppings.
The flatbread is less crunchy this way, but still delicious. This type of cooking is not suitable for cheesy toppings.
You can use a non-stick pan or a cast-iron pan. Warm up the pan till it's hot, then turn the heat to low.
Put the flatbread onto the pan and cook for about 1.5 to 2 minutes on each side.
Flip once then brush with the oil, garlic, parsley, and salt mix to keep the flatbread soft and infuse it with garlic flavor.
Toppings suggestions
We developed 4 delicious toppings for this flatbread pizza recipe and we are sure you are going to love them:
The Classic
To a bowl, add minced garlic, chopped parsley, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Give it a stir, and use it to brush on warm flatbread.
This is the perfect base to then apply other toppings on top, but it is also very good to eat on flatbread as is.
The Italian
Apply our vegan stracchino cheese on the flatbread before baking. Then add tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with a pinch of salt, then apply some more vegan cheese on top.
Now season with a drizzle of olive oil, dried oregano, and some black pepper.
Bake in the oven at 480F or 250C for 5 minutes, then turn the oven to grill function, and grill for 1 to 2 minutes till it gets all melty and golden on top.
The Greek
Bake the flatbread without toppings in the oven at 480F or 250C for 5 to 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and apply a generous amount of our sun-dried tomato pesto.
If you like, you can even brush with some of the garlic-parsley oil before applying the pesto.
Now add some mixed salad leaves (we use radicchio and watercress) and some olives. Drizzle with plain unsweetened soy yogurt to add a dash of freshness to the dish.
The Californian
Bake the flatbread without toppings in the oven at 480F or 250C for 5 to 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and apply a generous amount of mashed avocado (just mash it with a fork in a bowl)
If you like, you can even brush with some of the garlic-parsley oil before applying the avocado.
Add some mixed salad leaves (we use watercress and arugula) and some chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
Finally, drizzle with our quick chipotle sauce, which is out of this world and goes great with avocado.
Frequently asked questions
A flatbread is bread made with flour, water, and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. We use yeast in our bread as it makes it lighter and tastier.
This dough should be soft to the touch but not sticky. You should be able to work it with your hands without it sticking to them.
If it sticks, add a little flour. While you knead it, the dough will become slightly harder and more elastic. That's good.
It depends. Our vegan flatbread has no milk or butter/ghee so compared to many other breads is very healthy.
However, it is still made with all-purpose flour, a refined type of flour that isn't the healthiest kind as the refining process strips the flour from most of its nutrients.
You have two options: 1) use whole grain flour or a mix between whole wheat and all-purpose.
2) decrease the glycemic load of your meal by eating flatbread with a lot of veggies and legumes, like for instance roasted veggies, a big salad, or some chickpea hummus.
Chickpea and other legumes are the perfect companions to this bread as they not only add a lot of complex carbs and dietary fiber but also improve the protein profile of your meal by adding lysine, an essential amino acid that is low in wheat.
Storage
This recipe is best eaten immediately. If you have any leftovers you can only store them for a few hours. Reheat them in the oven before eating them.
YouTube
Double-tap to watch our video on how to make these delicious flatbreads on YouTube.
Recipe
How to make flatbread pizza
Ingredients
Flatbread pizza dough
- 2½ cups (400 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (250 grams) lukewarm water
- 1½ teaspoon (5 grams) instant dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
Classic flatbread topping
- 3 tablespoon (45 grams) olive oil extra virgin
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 handful parsley chopped
The Italian
- 4 tablespoons vegan stracchino cheese
- 1 - 2 tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- a drizzle of olive oil
The Greek
- 2 - 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto
- 1 - 2 handfuls mixed salad leaves (we use radicchio and watercress)
- 1 - 2 tablespoons pitted olives
- 1 - 2 tablespoons soy yogurt plain and unsweetened
The Californian
- 1 - 2 avocados mashed with a pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 1 - 2 handfuls mixed salad leaves (we use arugula and watercress)
- 1 - 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce
Instructions
MAKE THE FLATBREAD PIZZA DOUGH
- In a bowl dissolve the yeast and sugar in lukewarm water.Add flour and salt and mix with a wooden spoon until you have a dough that can be worked with your hands.
- Knead the dough with your hands for 5 to 10 minutes. It's best to do this on a worktop, but you can also do it in the same bowl. The dough should be elastic and soft, but it shouldn't stick to your hands. If too sticky, add a bit of extra flour and keep kneading.
- Put the dough ball into a well-oiled bowl. The bowl should be large enough so that the dough has enough space to double in volume during proofing.Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen cloth, leaving enough space between the dough and the cloth.Let proof in a turned-off but warm oven until it doubles in volume. To warm up the oven, turn it on for 30 seconds, then turn it off. It should take between 1 hour and 2 hours to proof.
- Transfer dough onto worktop, fold on itself 4 times, then cut into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a dough ball.
- 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.
- Use the tip of your fingers, putting your hands close together. Push down the dough from the center, and stretching it out as you press, giving it an oval shape.Set each flatbread aside, or on a baking tray lined with parchment paper to allow for a quick second proofing of about 15 to 30 minutes.In the meantime, preheat your oven to 480F or 250C.
THE CLASSIC flatbread pizza topping
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper, then put the flatbread on it and pierce it several times with a fork. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then bake in a preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes at 480F or 250C. Each oven is a little different, so keep an eye on them.
- In a bowl mixed together minced garlic, chopped parsley, olive oil and salt. Take flatbread out of the oven and brush with the oil, garlic, parsley mix and serve.
THE ITALIAN flatbread pizza topping
- Apply our vegan stracchino cheese on the flatbread before baking. It takes 5 minutes to make from scratch and in a pot. Link to recipe in the ingredients list above.
- Add tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with a pinch of salt, then apply some more vegan stracchino cheese on top. Now season with a drizzle of olive oil, dried oregano, and some black pepper.
- Bake in the oven at 480F or 250C for 5 minutes, then turn the oven to grill function, and grill for 1 to 2 minutes till it gets all melty and golden on top.
THE GREEK flatbread pizza topping
- Bake the flatbread without toppings in the oven at 480F or 250C for 5 to 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and apply a generous amount of our sun-dried tomato pesto (recipe link in ingredients list). If you like, you can even brush with some of the garlic-parsley oil before applying the pesto.Now add some mixed salad leaves (we use radicchio and watercress) and some olives. Drizzle with plain unsweetened soy yogurt to add a dash of freshness to the dish.
THE CALIFORNIAN flatbread pizza topping
- Bake the flatbread without toppings in the oven at 480F or 250C for 5 to 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and apply a generous amount of mashed avocado (just mash it with a fork in a bowl and a pinch of salt).If you like, you can even brush with some of the garlic-parsley oil before applying the avocado.
- Add some mixed salad leaves (we use watercress and arugula) and some chopped sun-dried tomatoes.Finally, drizzle with our quick chipotle sauce, which is out of this world and goes great with avocado. Recipe link in ingredients list above.
COOK THE FLATBREAD ON A PAN
- Use this type of cooking if you want a soft and fluffy flatbread that you can use to dip in curries, sauces, hummus, or that you can top with light toppings.You can use a non-stick pan or a cast-iron pan. Warm up the pan till it's hot, then turn the heat to low.Put the flatbread onto the pan and cook for about 1.5 to 2 minutes on each side.Flip once then brush with the oil, garlic, parsley, and salt mix to keep the flatbread soft and infuse it with garlic flavor.
Full video on youtube @theplantbasedschool
Notes
Nutritional Values
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Did you try this recipe at home? Let us know in the comments below!
Buon appetito!
Nico
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