How To Make Flatbread Pizza: Beginners’ Guide

Flatbreads are slowly becoming a staple in most of our local favorite coffee shops. With its fresh taste and luscious aroma, wouldn’t it be nice to know how to make flatbread pizza at home? Whether you have an oven or even a simple toaster, there are ways to create your take on the renowned flatbread pizza.

Type of Flatbreads

You may not know, but there are actually numerous types of flatbreads available around the globe. So before discussing how to make flatbread pizza, let us first discuss what are flatbreads in general. While these flatbreads may not be as similar as those you are familiar with, here are some of the flatbreads found around the world.

Tortilla

You may not know it, but the tortilla is a type of flatbread that is widely considered as one of the most famous of its kind. It is commonly used in Mexican households for traditional Mexican dishes, including tostadas, enchiladas, tacos, quesadilla, burritos, quesadillas, and wraps.

Pita

Common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring regions, the Pita is a type of leavened flatbread that features a distinct pocket created by baking the bread at a high temperature.

Naan

The Naan is a type of flatbread with fluffy consistency and is commonly found in the western, central, and southern regions of Asia. While it is widely available in markets all around, the Naan bread is commonly consumed with dips such as types of curries and spices.

Chapati

Considered as a staple food in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, East Africa, and the Caribbean, the Chapati use basic ingredients such as wheat, water, and salt and are paired to various dishes.

Focaccia

Focaccia is the proper term used to refer to the Italian flatbread that is oven-baked and resembles a pizza. It is also topped with a variety of ingredients, commonly olive oil, salt, and herbs.

Flatbread vs. Pizza

Have you ever looked into a menu and wondered what is the difference between a flatbread and pizza? If you look at it, both items are essentially the same. They both have a bread crust that can be topped with a variety of ingredients and combinations. But what essentially differs one from the other? While there is no definitive difference between a flatbread and a pizza, there are some notable distinctions, particularly in the cooking process.

Flatbreads and pizzas differ in the crust as flatbreads do not have any include any agents. Unlike pizzas with yeast or other leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda, flatbreads retain a thin and flat consistency. It includes a minimal amount of leavening or none at all. In relation to consistency, some describe the texture and consistency of a pizza to be chewy and airy while flatbreads have a cracker-like crust that is achieved by par-baking the crust before adding any topping. We’ll go on the specifics on how to make flatbread pizza later on.

How to Make Flatbread Pizza

While there are different kinds of flatbreads in the world, we will focus on making focaccia or flatbread pizzas. Flatbread pizzas are relatively easy to make and take barely 20 minutes to prepare. With that, here are some ways on how to properly bake flatbreads into perfection.

Ingredients

There are wide varieties of flatbread pizzas in terms of the toppings used on it. However, what is constant in these recipes is how to make the dough of the flatbread pizza. To do so, you would need the following ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Vegetable oil
• Cornmeal
• Toppings of your choice

Making Flatbread Pizza at Home

Moving on to how to make flatbread pizza dough, one advantage of making flatbread pizza at home is that it only takes more or less 20 minutes to prepare, and it is so easy that your kids could actually join in and help. Now, here is how to make easy homemade flatbread pizza that is good for 3 servings:

• In a large bowl, combine the 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt or regular table salt, and ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Whisk all the ingredients together, or you can also use a food processor. Keep in mind that any leavening ingredient for the flatbread pizza is optional, and you can opt to omit it from the recipe if you would want a thinner and flatter crust.
  
  
• Add the cup of plain Greek yogurt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto the dry ingredients and whisk until no dry spots remain.
  
  
• Lightly flour a clean surface and transfer the dough to knead until smooth. Kneading the dough would take roughly 3 to 4 minutes. Don’t forget to generously sprinkle more flour onto the dough and surface when the dough starts to get sticky.
  
  
• Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll each dough into a ¼-inch thick round or square crust.
  
  
• Place your flattened crust onto a baking pan dusted with cornmeal or brushed with vegetable oil. Poke the dough with a fork and bake the crust in a preheated oven at 400° for 5-8 minutes or until the edges of the flatbread start to have a golden-brown color.
  
  
• This process is called par-baking and is an important part of making flatbread pizzas as it creates a crispier crust. Aside from that, par-baking allows you to store and freeze the crust for later use.
  
  
• After par-baking, generously brush the crust with some olive oil and top with your chosen ingredients before putting it back into the over to bake for 5-10 minutes more.

Conclusion

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