Thin Crust Flatbread

This year, the Fun Food Feed will be sharing our most loved whole-plant recipes, we’ve developed over the years. Each month, we will publish a favorite recipe.

February’s featured recipe is for Thin Crust Flatbread.

The fragrances wafting from the restaurants, as I walk through downtown from my flat, call to me. The local pizzeria has perhaps the most bewitching siren’s song, sending me running back to my kitchen to prepare this flatbread, that can emerge, hot from the oven, faster than any delivery service.

The wafer-thin, whole grain crust gets its instant rise from chemical leavening, instead of yeast, and bakes in only a few minutes.

The toppings are a selection of the farmers market vegetables at hand – usually a dry-sauteed (or thinly sliced fresh) medley of mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers and garlic, with a few plum tomatoes, olives and pine nuts, over tomato sauce.

While the pizza’s baking in the oven, I blend up some fresh pesto, to spoon over the top, after it emerges from the oven.

Thin Crust Flatbread

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Yield: ~1-2 servings

Equipment:

Bowl
Measuring cups & spoons
Spoon
Cutting board
Knife
Baking sheet
Rolling pin or long smooth bottle
Parchment
Spatula

Crust Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole grain flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon water
Pinch salt
Pinch baking soda
Pinch baking powder

Toppings:

Tomato paste and/or sauce
Colorful vegetable medley, dry-sauteed or thinly-sliced raw
Favorite additional toppings, like olives and pine nuts
Garnishes, like pesto and fresh basil

Steps:

In bowl, mix flour, water, salt, baking powder and soda, and knead until forms cohesive ball. If too dry, add a little water. If too wet, add a little flour.
Prepare toppings.
On parchment, roll out dough as thinly as possible. For a “finished” edge, tuck under the edges of the dough.

4. Spread on tomato paste and/or sauce
Decorate with toppings.
Bake at 500F, until edges crisp and crust bottom lightly browned, ~7-10 minutes.
Garnish with pesto and fresh basil.