I tried my hand at some homemade flatbread. I recently went out to dinner with friends and my choices were salad or gluten free flatbread, in which I had to almost remove all the ingredients. It was hard coming up with toppings I could have but I went with it.

When it arrived, my ingredients were very sparse. There was a lot of crust. And by the time I was finished with about half of it, my jaw was so tired from chewing.

Flatbread vs Pizza

I was a little confused by the difference between a flatbread and a pizza so after some research here’s what I came up with. Flatbread is like a pizza crust because it’s thin and crispy. They are different because flatbread is considered unleavened bread. There isn’t enough yeast to make it rise. 

So I tried to make homemade flatbread myself and I really enjoyed it. And my jaw was NOT tired at all.

I made mine brushing the oil on top of the dough then baking it for 5 minutes. Then I removed the parchment paper and added sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and a little bit of dairy free parmesan shreds. Next I baked it for about 12 more minutes, until the edges picked up a little color. When it was finished baking, I sprinkled some dairy free feta crumbles on top and I finished it off with a little balsamic vinegar drizzle.

I hope you try it and love it too. Don’t forget to tell me what you think over in our Stay Gluten Free Community. I prefer pizza over flatbread, but this was a nice little change. And it was SO easy to make.

Ingredients

• 250 grams Paola’s OWN all-purpose GF flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant (rapid rise) yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 tablespoon
• 3/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets or pizza pans with parchment paper. You might be able to fit both flatbreads on one pan.
2. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a small bowl. Dip your fingertips into it and spread a thin layer of oil onto both pieces of parchment paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, yeast, and salt.
4. Add the olive oil and warm water and using an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment, mix into a dough.
5. Dip your fingertips into the olive oil again and divide the dough into two portions and place each one onto each piece of parchment paper.
6. Use your fingertips to begin spreading each dough portion from the center to the edges until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Do not worry about the shape, it does not have to be perfectly round, in fact, flat breads are usually more oblong. If your fingers begin sticking to the dough, re-dip them in the olive oil.
7. Use a pastry brush to brush the rest of the olive oil onto each crust.
8. Bake each crust for 5 minutes. (You can do this one at a time or both on the same pizza pan). Remove them from the oven and remove the parchment paper.
9. CHOICE– You can add toppings now or cook the flatbread fully and add the toppings at the end.
10. Regardless of your choice bake for 10-15 minutes more until desired crispiness is achieved or the edges pick up a little color. If you waited to add toppings you can add them now.
11. Slice, serve and enjoy.

NOTE: I made this using my all-purpose flour and my bread flour and I liked it better with my AP flour. This recipe did not go through intense recipe testing, but it checked the boxes for quick, easy and good.