Nothing beats a pizza made out of homemade bread right out of the oven. I love making bread and I make it the old fashioned way, by hand. Don’t have one of those fancy stand mixers with a dough hook to knead the dough. It takes about 2 hours from start to finish to make flatbreads including the time it takes to raise the dough. I started thinking it would be fun to make individual pizzas so that everyone could top them with their favorite toppings. Before I learned to make flatbreads I would buy Pita Bread at the store. I’ve since found out they’re really easy to make, taste better and I can make up to 8 flatbreads at a time. There are many things I can do with flatbread but I’ll get into that another time. . . but for now lets get started on the Greek Pizza.
I work with 2 large bowls. One is for my flour mix, the other is for the starter of yeast, warm water, salt, sugar, olive oil and molasses. Let the starter bowl set for a few minutes in a warm place to let the yeast ferment a bit.
Once you’ve given it a few minutes, give it a stir and it will look like this. See the molasses color showing through. Now it’s time to start adding the flour mix.
You’ll want to work in the flour a little bit at a time until you get a workable dough. Note : You probably won’t use all the flour mix, it’s okay we’ll use it in the next step.
I usually add a 1/2 cup all purpose flour plus a 1/4 cup of wheat flour to the leftover mix. Make a well in the flour and place the dough inside the well. Now using your knuckles pull the dough toward you while moving the pan counter clockwise. You will pull in a little flour at a time kneading it for a few minutes until you get a nice round dough.
Drizzle olive oil in a large bowl, place your dough inside and then drizzle the top with EVOO. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel and place in a warm place to rise. I always turn on the oven and place on top of the stove.
Give it 30 to 45 minutes to raise. It should double in bulk and look like this.
Okay, you’ve seen this before but we’re going to punch it down and knead it again in the flour well. Just a little bit this time to get it floured and easy to work with.
Now I take a big knife and cut it into 8 pieces like a pie.
Take each piece in hand and shape into balls like these.
Make sure to flour the area where you roll out your flatbread. I use a small pizza roller rather than a large pie roller. It’s easier to work with, at least I think so.
Keep rolling until you get a nice thin round dough that’s around 8 inches.
Aren’t they pretty all lined up and ready to go to the hot pan.
I used a Calphalon non-stick pan, but you can use a cast iron skillet or even the outdoor grill. Just make sure the pan is hot. You will start to see small bubbles appear. Then flip it over gently.
You can see the marks where it cooked on the other side. Usually flip it back over and it will bubble up even more. Not too long though or you’ll burn the bread.
Let them cool for 10 – 15 minutes. You can now make pizza or store them in a gallon size storage bag for later. They will need to be kept cool in the fridge until time to use.
Time to make sauce. I used 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, drizzled 2 T Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil, salt and pepper to taste and covered in a stainless steel pan over medium low heat for 10 minutes until they were just about ready to pop.
I broke them down with a wooden spoon and they were still a bit juicy so I added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste to thicken the sauce.
Time to make pizza. Start with slices of fresh mozzarella and spoon on some cherry tomato sauce.
Add some kalamata olives, balsamic soaked red onions, artichokes and feta cheese. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook in 425 degree oven for 7 – 10 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.
Flatbread Pizza Crust
1 1/3 cups hot water
1 pkg Rapid Rise Yeast
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for coating
2 cups self rising flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, molasses, salt sugar and olive oil. Set aside until yeast starts to get foamy. In another large bowl, mix together the flours. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture a little at a time and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a large bowl lightly drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle on top of dough and cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel and place in a warm area for half an hour. When doubled in bulk, take dough and cut into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and roll out into round 8 inch flatbreads.
Heat a large non-stick skillet on high. Place flatbread in skillet and bread will start to bubble. Flip and cook on the other side a minute or so making sure not to burn. Flip again and bread should bubble up more. Transfer to a cooling plate 10 – 15 minutes. Store in a gallon size storage bag and refrigerate until ready to use.
Cherry Tomato Sauce
2 cups Cherry Tomatoes
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
2 T Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T Tomato Paste
Place all ingredients in a large stainless steel skillet over medium low heat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes until tomatoes are about to burst. Remove from heat, crush tomatoes with balsamic sauce. Add 2 T tomato paste. Sauce will thicken.
Toppings:
Kalamata Olives
Artichoke Hearts
Red Onions soaked in Balsamic Vinegar
Feta Cheese
An Inspired Cook 