Homemade Flatbread Pizza Recipe

Adapted from my favorite pizza crust, this homemade flatbread pizza bakes up into a thin and chewy base for your favorite flatbread toppings. Quicker, easier, and thinner than pizza, this flatbread dough takes about 1 hour start to finish and is perfect for beginners. I always love adding garlic and Italian seasonings for extra flavor!

If you’ve ever wanted to try making restaurant-style thin crust flatbreads, I have the perfect starting point for you. This is my EASY homemade flatbread dough, and the starting point for recipes like zucchini & herbed ricotta flatbread and veggie pizza. Have you tried it yet?

Here’s why you must…

Make This Flatbread Pizza Because:

• you don’t need many ingredients
• it’s quicker than homemade pizza
• the dough yields 2 flatbreads
• 1 full recipe is perfect for 2-4 people
• it’s easier to shape than regular pizza dough
• you can eat it plain or with toppings

In other words, it’s the easier, quicker, and more convenient version of pizza dough.

What’s the Difference Between Flatbread Pizza and Regular Pizza?

Flatbread can be made with or without yeast. My version requires yeast for the smallest bit of rise, similar to a thin crust pizza. If you want a no-yeast flatbread, I recommend searching for another recipe that’s modified without its addition. (Don’t simply leave the yeast out of this one!)

My regular pizza dough bakes into a thick, chewy, and soft-centered bed for your favorite toppings. It’s a deeply loved recipe on this website and the only pizza dough recipe I use. Flatbread pizza is just that– flatter pizza. Since it’s flatter, it doesn’t require as much yeast or rise time and is perfectly manageable if you’ve never made homemade bread before.

This flatbread is similar to my focaccia, another simple homemade bread recipe.

6 Ingredient Yeast Flatbread Pizza Dough

• Yeast: You can use instant or active-dry yeast with zero changes. If you’re new to working with yeast, I recommend reviewing my Baking with Yeast guide. I used to make flatbread with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of yeast, but recently reduced it down to 1 teaspoon. This is plenty for a thin flatbread crust. Note that 1 teaspoon is less than 1 standard packet.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar feeds the yeast. You only need 1 teaspoon.
• Water: Flatbread and pizza dough are lean doughs, meaning there isn’t a lot of fat present. While I make rich overnight cinnamon rolls and glazed doughnuts dough with milk, we don’t need that extra fat here. We’re aiming for chewy and crisp, not voluptuous and soft.
• Flour: You can use bread flour or all-purpose flour. Bread flour leaves a slightly chewier texture, but the difference is barely noticeable since the crust is so thin.
• Olive Oil: Adds flavor. We’ll also brush the dough with olive oil before baking, too.
• Salt: Adds flavor.

Optional Additions: You can also add some flair to this dough with a little garlic and/or Italian seasoning like we often do when making homemade breadsticks. Or add chopped fresh herbs or freshly ground pepper, too.

Overview: How to Make Flatbread Pizza Dough

1. Mix the dough ingredients together by hand or use a stand mixer.
2. Knead by hand or beat the dough with your mixer.
3. Place dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover tightly, and let it rise for 45 minutes.
4. Punch down the slightly risen dough to release air bubbles. Divide in half.
5. Flatten the two doughs with your hands or with a rolling pin. The flatbreads can be any shape you want as long as they’re about 1/4-inch thick. (Very thin!) Dimple with your fingers or with a fork. Brush with olive oil, which helps protect the crust from any sogginess lingering from the toppings.
6. Top with favorite flatbread toppings.
7. Bake at a very high temperature for only about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

You Can Enjoy it Plain

If desired, you can skip the toppings and leave the flatbread plain. In the next two pictures, I topped the doughs with fresh garlic, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. After baking, I sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese. Freshly baked plain flatbread feels like a total treat when served with marinara sauce, hummus, homemade pesto, or even mashed avocado and fried eggs (for an avocado toast variation!).

Flatbread Pizza Toppings

Or you can get creative with various toppings. Add these before baking.

1. Tomato, Basil, & Mozzarella Flatbread: I have this version pictured today, and with some fresh arugula on top. See recipe note.
2. Zucchini & Herbed Ricotta Flatbread
3. 1/2 cup goat or blue cheese per flatbread (1 cup total) and 1/2 cup fresh apple or pear slices per flatbread (1 cup total), plus a handful of fresh arugula and/or drizzle of honey after baking
4. Make a cold veggie pizza! (Note the dough is very slightly different in that recipe.)
5. BBQ Chicken Pizza & Pesto Pizza toppings*
6. Spinach Artichoke White Cheese Pizza toppings*

*If you’re using toppings from my pizza recipes, you’ll need about 2/3 of the amount. My pizza recipe toppings are enough for one 12-inch pizza and are more than plenty for 2 smaller flatbreads (the full recipe below).

Pre-cook: Any meats should be pre-cooked before using as a flatbread topping. If you want to top the flatbread with vegetables, feel free to sauté or gently cook them first. I usually don’t with spinach, peppers, and mushrooms, but with “harder” veggies like broccoli or cauliflower, they’ll taste better if they’ve been slightly cooked before using as topping.

Get creative! I can’t wait to hear about how you top your flatbread pizzas. Feel free to email or share your recipe photos on social media. 🙂

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