Middle Eastern Flatbread Pizzas
30 March 2022
Middle Eastern Flatbread Pizzas
Middle Eastern Flatbread Pizzas
These three Middle Easter flatbread pizzas pictured here were our Sunday night family dinner, and my, oh my, what a delicious way to end the week. They were a winner for every one of us and a Carby Coma we enjoyed.
Flatbreads typically don’t contain yeast. They are quick to make as you don’t need to wait for the dough to rise and rest. After a quick google search on the difference between flatbread dough, pizza dough & pitta dough, you’ll discover that the lines are very blurred, and there’s a lot of grey area.
I am not going to lie; this here dough is Pitta and not flatbread. Pitta dough, just like most pizza doughs, needs time to rise & rest, but it results in a fluffier and more pillowy dough. I happened to have leftover Pitta dough in the fridge, which was the very thing that prompted Sunday night’s dinner.
So, you can choose your own adventure with this recipe. It will come down to your time and what you’re aiming for.
To make a quick flatbread, simply leave out the yeast and let your dough rest for 15 minutes or so, and you are ready for action. Flatbreads are sensational, and they are fast.
This dinner was a fantastic way to use our ingredients on hand.
You can keep things simple and top them with just extra virgin olive oil and zaatar. Or, for a more substantial meal, open that fridge and have a play.
Ours were brushed with garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil, followed by some tomato passata. I had a small amount of caramelised onions in the fridge, but you could instead use finely sliced red onion. I used a combination of sliced tomato and cherry tomatoes and added some grated halloumi. You might notice I went a little rogue and steered gently away from the Middle East for just a moment or two once I spied half a tub of bocconcini left in the fridge, and so I added that also.
These toppings were the base of all three Middle Eastern flatbread pizzas. Still, we topped one with a few eggs (you could fry them and add them to the cooked flatbread if you prefer). And we topped the other with leftover slow-cooked lamb that I was lucky enough to have a little bit from Saturday’s cooking class. Once the Middle Eastern flatbread pizzas came out of the oven, all were dressed with chopped fresh parsley leaves & dusted with sumac. Olives would make a great addition, but none were in the fridge this week.
Enjoy these warm, straight from the oven, which is something my gorgeous family are rarely treated to as food photo shoots are prioritised. The poor darlings, hey!
I hope you enjoy these Middle Eastern flatbread pizzas. They are versatile and I really do think you will find them to be a real crowd pleaser.
It is a pleasure to share the recipe with you here.
And – if you could do with invaluable help with ‘What’s for dinner?’ and taking away the stress and mental load…..come and check out ‘Every Night of Dinner Success’.
With love & wishing you happy days always,
Nellie
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Middle Eastern Flatbread Pizzas
Middle Eastern Flatbread Pizzas
Equipment
- 1 Oven
- 2 Baking trays
- 1 Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 7 g 1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
- 375 ml lukewarm water 1 1/2 cups
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 600 g 00 flour 4 cups
- Semolina or additional flour for dusting & rolling
Instructions
- Place yeast in to a medium sized bowl with only ½ cup of the warm water and olive oil. Whisk lightly with a fork to combine and then set aside for 10 minutes. Dissolve the salt in the remaining 1 cup of warm water.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and also the remaining salt water. Knead with hands for 10 minutes in the bowl. Alternatively use a stand mixer that has a dough hook to do this. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in volume, approximately 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 220oC.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 3 or 4 balls. Scatter a little semolina or additional flour across the bench and roll each one out onto an oval shape and place on a lined or oiled baking tray.
- Brush the flatbreads with some extra virgin olive oil or use garlic infused olive oil.
- Top each flatbread with your choice of toppings.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes.
- Ours were brushed with garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil, followed by some tomato passata. I had a small amount of caramelised onions in the fridge, but you could instead use finely sliced red onion. I used a combination of sliced tomato and cherry tomatoes and added some grated halloumi. You might notice I went a little rogue and steered gently away from the Middle East for just a moment or two once I spied half a tub of bocconcini left in the fridge, and so I added that also.
- These toppings were the base of all three Middle Eastern flatbread pizzas.
- We left one topped with the above.
- We topped one with a few eggs (you could fry them and add them to the cooked flatbread if you prefer).
- And we topped another with leftover slow-cooked lamb that I was lucky enough to have a little bit from Saturday's cooking class.
- Once the Middle Eastern flatbread pizzas came out of the oven, all were dressed with chopped fresh parsley leaves & dusted with sumac. Olives would make a great addition, but none were in the fridge this week.
- These will take approximately 20 minutes to cook in a preheated oven.
Notes
Nutrition
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