Thursday, September 24, 2009

With a side of "homemade love".

A few months back I made rosemary flatbread with blue cheese, grapes and honey. I thought it was really tasty but my husband had different thoughts. I liked the flavor combination but I thought the real star was the crispy flatbread. So I made it again and topped it with man (and boy)-approved pizza toppings.

My little brother found out I was going to be making homemade pizza and asked for me to wait til he came over to make it. So I did. I asked him what he wanted on his pizza and handed him a pad and paper to write his requests on. This is what he wrote, "some garlic, tomato chunks, peppironi, italian sausage, Dr. Pepper :-], and your homemade love <3". Ask and you shall receive.

He's generally not a mushroom lover, but I sauteed some up in a little butter and garlic and he piled those on too along with a simple tomato sauce and milky fresh mozz and loads of freshly crushed garlic. And just so you know the Dr. Pepper was served on the side, lukewarm and in a can. Just like he likes it. :-)

Crispy Flatbread Pizza adapted from Food & Wine
  • 1 envelope active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • pizza sauce
  • pizza topping of your choice

In a large bowl, whisk the yeast and sugar with 1/4 cup of the flour. Stir in 1/4 cup of the warm water and let stand until slightly foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, salt, pepper and the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of water; stir until a dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a draft-free spot (the microwave) until billowy and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°. Place a pizza stone* in the bottom of the oven, and preheat for at least 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press and stretch the dough into a 13-inch round or 3 individual size pizzas (about 8 inches- the larger the flatbread the thinner and crispier it will be) then transfer to a lightly floured pizza peel or the back flat side of a sheet pan.

Slide the flatbread onto the hot stone and bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the crust is very lightly golden. Place your sauce and desired pizza toppings on it then transfer the flatbread back into the oven til cheese melts and toppings are warmed through.

NOTE: *I only have one pizza stone but baked 3 pizzas at once. The stone yielded the crispiest crust, but an aluminum pizza pan (with holes in it for ventilation) came in a close second. A regular cookie sheet worked fine but didn't get as crisp and it took a little longer to crisp up.

33 comments:

Selba said...

Awwwww... Your brother's request is so sweet! Love pizza! But, I hardly have homemade pizza....:)

Coleens Recipes said...

Your brother sounds like a real sweetie and the pizza looks awesome!!

Heather S-G said...

Awesome!! These are perfect....bring on the garlic...I love whole, roasted cloves on mine :)

cookies and cups said...

yum, yum yum. this is everything I love! the crust looks perfect!

Unknown said...

That looks incredible, Monica! I put it up on Delicious, and I'm about to tweet it for you too. :-D

vanillasugarblog said...

girl you make a FINE looking pizza. damn!

Debbie said...

Looks great....better than any store bought could ever look. Love the toppings!

Monica H said...

BigSis- Thanks for getting the word out! I appreciate it.

Hennifer said...

That pizza looks divine! Lukewarm Dr. Pepper? Like room temperature or warmer?

I keep holding on to this recipe since you first shared it with me.
I am bound and determined to make it but need to get me a stone! I need it for bread too so I don't know why I hold off.

Lissaloo said...

Boy her knows how to butter you up doesn't he ;)
This sounds really good, I bet my kiddos would love it :)

Foodiewife said...

What a sweet recipe! It makes me miss my son's requests. Now you've done it! I have a pizza stone, but I've been wondering how the aluminum pizza rack works. Hubs has been hinting that he's ready for one of my pizzas. You just gave me the push that I need. Yummy!!!
PS: I would have happily eaten half of the previous pizza, too. Sounds like a great combo.

Juliana said...

Oh! The flatbread pizza looks elicious, love the ingredients on it :-)

my3sons said...

My.Stomache.Is.Growling.

Monica H said...

Hennifer- room temp. He doesn't like cold or iced soda.

Go get yourself a pizza stone already!

Deb- I would have gladly shared with you :-)

Lissaloo- Butter me up? How can you tell?

Ingrid_3Bs said...

That was so cute of Aaron....homemade love indeed! :) Except for the tomatoes the knows how to top a "pizza"!
~ingrid

♥peachkins♥ said...

what a sweet note! I'd give him two servings of pizza.

Katie said...

Looks delicious and the perfect mid week meal. Love how crisp the crust is.

Kristin said...

That looks MUCH better than the chef boyardee pizza I made last Friday! I MUST try this! Thanks!
Kristin

Kim said...

I love that you called them "man/boy" toppings :D Looks delicious. I love homemade pizza. I joined up with the Cake Slice Bakers this week and am excited to start.

Sophie said...

pizza on a crispy crust and family lovin', sounds like a tasty meal. Glad to hear the dr. pepper was served on the side :D.

Anonymous said...

I love homemade pizza, we make it every couple of weeks. I might have to try this next time, it lookes awesome!

A New England Girl said...

This looks SO good. Yummm. I cannot wait to try this!! [like so many other of your recipes...]

Lissaloo said...

I have an award for you on my blog :)

Tracie said...

I hopped over here from One Step at a Time to say congrats on your award! Your recipes look delicious!

unconfidentialcook said...

What is it about men and their meat? A meal just isn't a meal for them without meat....Love the flatbread pizza, and would love your version even better I think.

Peabody said...

That is some homemade love!

Kerstin said...

Awww, how sweet of you - crispy flatbreads are just the best and yours looks delicious!

Lynn said...

I just happened upon your blog for the first time and had to tell you, everything here looks lovely, lovely, lovely! From the fudgey cake to the key lime sandwich cookies, to this pizza -- yum, I want some pizza right now! I'm glad I've found you. I'm going to make a note of your address so I can come back by and see what else you've got cooking. Thanks :)

Donna-FFW said...

You must be the bestest biggest sister ever. Lucky little brother.

Pizza looks fantastic.

Keeley said...

I have this recipe bookmarked for the weekend. I still have rosemary that survived after fall set in and I can't wait to try this!

Bill Medifast said...

Homemade pizzas is such a huge hit in my house. I remember being a kid making them and I love doing it with my kids. Cooking in my house is slowly becoming a huge family event, and pizza night is the funniest of them all.

Thanks for sharing this and glad to see Dr. Pepper was on the side. Would be interesting seeing that mixed into the actual pizza ;)

Bill M.

Adele said...

In my 5 years of marriage I have never been successful with homemade pizza because my crust has always been too "bready" but this flatbread was perfect! We just had it last night and it was so delicious!!! LOVE IT!! This will become a regular in our house!

Hannah, Here! said...

I used this crust for a margherita pizza. It was absolutely delicious!

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