If you’ve been reading here for awhile, you might have noticed that I’m not really a baker. Sure I’ve posted the occasional quick bread or cookie recipe, but I’m really more of a box mix type of baker. Baking from scratch isn’t something I’m very familiar with and I’ve been wanting to change that.
I have a Pinterest board full of baked goods I’d like to tackle, but I’d really like to get a handle of some basics: pizza dough, bread (rolls, loaves, biscuits), and of course the occasional sweet treat. These are all things I’d like to make from scratch this year.
I thought I’d kick off my baking resolution with something easy: flatbread. Combing through the many cooking blogs I read, I came across a promising recipe on Smitten Kitchen for crisp rosemary flatbread. I also remembered an episode of Giada on the Food Network using her grill pan and decided to try my hand at a “bread” that I didn’t even end up baking.
Grilling it on my grill pan gave me a great char and I used my panini press to speed up the cooking time. Feel free to check out Smitten Kitchen’s original cooking method (baked in an oven) or grill up this flatbread outdoors on a gas or charcoal grill. It’s a great side dish for dinner or as an appetizer to get your meal started. Experiment with the herbs and make it your own.
herbed flatbread
printer-friendly recipe
adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Giada De Laurentiis
serves: 4
ingredients:
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for the board
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for topping
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for topping
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
Flaky sea salt or kosher salt
directions:
Stir together flour, rosemary, thyme, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a lightly floured work surface 4 or 5 times.
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each piece of dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Brush each circle with olive oil and grill for 2-4 minutes each side. Before flipping the flatbread, sprinkle additional salt and herbs on top. Remove the flatbread from the grill and cool slightly before serving.
I have the best recipe for pizza dough. It’s the one I use for my Stromboli. I’d be glad to share it with you if you’d like. It tastes just like the dough you get at the pizzeria.
yes, please! can you shoot me an email with the dough recipe?