Tuesday, August 10, 2010

By Request - Mrs Captains Flat Bread (Pizza)

I started a search for homemade flatbread after visiting "American Flatbread" in Burlington , Vermont.  They have the best flatbread I've ever tasted and there I learned to NOT call it Pizza..ha! The crust is just what they call it flat and its crisp. So going along with my make it myself mode  this is how I make it.

Take 2 Tablespoons of yeast and mix with 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add 1 cup of warm water, stir and let that sit for about 5 minutes, this should give you a nice foaming mixture. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

In another bowl add 2 1/2 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of salt add the yeast mixture to this ( I use my kitchen aide mixer with dough hook for this ) kneading the dough until I have a nice consistency. You may need to add more flour this is critical you need a soft dough that is smooth and elastic but not tough. I sometimes add a much as 1/4 cup more of flour during this kneading process.

Since I like my flatbreads to fix on my pizza stone I cut this dough in half  each half will make a small 12" flatbread.  take each half  and form into a ball by kneading in at the edges. Place on a pan which has been coated with olive oil and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes , you don't need to cover it.

After it has rested form it into a 12" round which is no more than 1/4" thick. Now I know that using a pizza stone your supposed to heat it first but I don't have one of those neat big wooden things to transfer it so I just dust the stone with cornmeal and place the dough on the cold stone.   add your toppings and bake for about 15 minutes.

Now toppings on a flatbread , less is better, you want the crust to be crispy and not soggy.
The photo I took of my flatbread is just asiago cheese with italian herbs, sundried tomatoes and pineapple.  no sauce.. I love it!

if you add sauce just use it sparely! Enjoy!

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