Let me start by saying Ryan and I have a serious pizza addiction. We have a few favorites (Ledo’s with its sweet sauce and Valentino’s NY-style slices come to mind), but I’ve always wanted to try making my own. And for the longest time I felt intimidated by the thought of pizza dough….like I should make it from scratch or something. But since buying store-bought pizza dough, I’ve been able to feed our addiction with a homemade version that is to die for: Margherita Flatbread!
I’m calling this a flatbread and not a pizza for a couple reasons: 1. I can’t get the dough rolled out to a perfect circle to save my life (who cares, it still tastes good!); and 2. I’m a fan of really thin crust, which to me, is more flatbread-like as opposed to pizza.
I’m also doing a loose interpretation on traditional Margherita toppings. Instead of tomato sauce I’m using roasted tomatoes, which is totally my new favorite way to eat tomatoes. When you make this you’ll see (or shall I say, smell) what I mean: the aroma that will permeate from your oven from roasting the tomatoes (with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar) will make you swoon! And instead of fresh mozzarella (the kind that’s sold in liquid) I’m opting for pre-shredded mozzarella. Gasp! I know, I know….I always say to use fresh cheese and shred/grate it yourself, but sometimes you just need a shortcut and it works perfectly fine for a flatbread. Also, I found the fresh mozzarella left my dough a little soggy (not OK). And finally, I opted for store-bought pesto sauce instead of fresh basil leaves to give it a little extra somethin, somethin.
Ingredients
How to make it
Prior to making the flatbread, take the pizza dough out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for about an hour. If it’s too cold, the dough will spring back when you roll it out, making it difficult to make it very thin.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Roast the tomatoes: drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil, then arrange the sliced tomatoes on top of the oil in a single layer. Top with the minced garlic; sprinkle with the kosher salt and pepper; drizzle with olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar on each tomato. Roast for 15 minutes.
While the tomatoes roast, add a little flour to a clean surface and roll the dough out until thin (around ¼ inch thick).
Drizzle a little olive oil on a baking sheet then carefully transfer the pizza dough onto the sheet, by putting your rolling pin under the dough and lifting onto the baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes throughout the dough (to prevent air bubbles), then drizzle the dough with a little more olive oil.
Take the tomatoes out of the oven and increase temperature to 475 degrees F. Bake the pizza dough for 10 minutes, until the edges become a light golden brown.
When the dough is cooked, immediately top with the mozzarella, then with the roasted tomatoes. Put back in the oven at the same temperature of 475 degrees F, for 3-4 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Take the flatbread out and top with pesto and freshly shaved parmesan. Serve immediately.
- 1 pound pizza dough
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- 4-5 plum tomatoes, sliced lengthwise (about ½ inch thick)
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4-6 ounces shredded whole milk mozzarella
- 1/4 cup pesto sauce
- 3 Tablespoons freshly shaved parmesan
- Prior to making the flatbread, take the pizza dough out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Roast the tomatoes: drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil, then arrange the sliced tomatoes on top of the oil in a single layer. Top with the minced garlic; sprinkle with the kosher salt and pepper; drizzle with olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar on each tomato. Roast for 15 minutes.
- While the tomatoes roast, add a little flour to a clean surface and roll the dough out until thin (around ¼ inch thick).
- Drizzle a little olive oil on a baking sheet then carefully transfer the pizza dough onto the sheet, by putting your rolling pin under the dough and lifting onto the baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes throughout the dough (to prevent air bubbles), then drizzle the dough with a little more olive oil.
- Take the tomatoes out of the oven and increase temperature to 475 degrees F. Bake the pizza dough for 10 minutes, until the edges become a light golden brown.
- When the dough is cooked, immediately top with the mozzarella, then with the roasted tomatoes. Put back in the oven at the same temperature of 475 degrees F, for 3-4 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Take the flatbread out and top with pesto and freshly shaved parmesan.