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
- Mix the dough ingredients together by hand or use a stand mixer.
- Knead by hand or beat the dough with your mixer. Reference my How to Knead Dough video tutorial if you need extra help with this step.
- Place dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover tightly, and let it rise for 45 minutes.
- Punch down the slightly risen dough to release air bubbles. Divide in half.
- 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.
- Top with favorite flatbread toppings.
- 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.
- Tomato, Basil, & Mozzarella Flatbread: I have this version pictured today, and with some fresh arugula on top. See recipe note.
- Zucchini & Herbed Ricotta Flatbread
- 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
- Make a cold veggie pizza! (Note the dough is very slightly different in that recipe.)
- BBQ Chicken Pizza & Pesto Pizza toppings*
- 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. 🙂
See Your Homemade Flatbread Pizzas:
PrintHomemade Flatbread Pizza Recipe
- Prep Time: 55 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: serves 2-4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Follow these basic instructions for thin yeasted flatbread pizza crust. The recipe yields enough dough for two small flatbreads, each perfect for 1 hungry person or 2 people to split (2-4 people total). Freezing instructions listed below. See all of my detailed topping suggestions in the blog post above or recipe notes below.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (180ml) warm water, (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and surface
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons for brushing the dough
- 1 teaspoon salt
- optional: 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove minced garlic and/or 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the yeast, sugar, and warm water together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the flour, olive oil, and salt (and garlic/seasoning if using). Mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment until combined, about 2 minutes. The dough should be thick, yet soft and slightly sticky. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. When it does, it is ready to knead. If, however, the dough is too sticky to handle, mix in more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Make sure you do not add too much extra flour; you want a soft, slightly tacky dough.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if using the paddle) and beat for an additional 6-8 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 6-8 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl (I use nonstick spray to grease) and cover with plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to sit and rest for 45 minutes at room temperature. Once it has rested and slightly risen, you can continue with the recipe or place the covered dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. More instructions in the make ahead Note below.
- As the dough is resting and rising, prepare your toppings. See blog post and/or recipe note below.
- Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C).
- Shape the dough: Punch the dough down to release any air. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface with floured hands and working with one dough piece at a time, begin shaping and stretching the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. You can use a floured rolling pin for this too. Don’t worry about the shape of the dough, just make sure it’s pretty thin. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Carefully transfer both pieces of dough to a parchment paper or silicone-mat lined baking sheet, or use a pizza stone. (You can also shape/roll out the doughs directly on a silicone baking mat or a large sheet of parchment if that is easier for you and then just transfer the whole thing to the baking sheet.)
- Poke your fingers all around the surface of the flatbreads or prick a few holes with a fork. Drizzle or brush each with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Top each with your favorite toppings.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes or until the crust and toppings are browned to your liking. Remove from the oven. Slice and serve warm.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can be prepared through step 4, then after it has risen, cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Continue with step 5. To freeze the dough, prepare it through step 4. After it has risen, punch it down to release any air. Divide it in 2, if desired, then wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for about 1 hour before stretching out/shaping and topping. If the thawed dough keeps shrinking back as you try to shape it, lightly cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let it rest on the counter or your work surface for 15 minutes. (The gluten just needs a chance to settle.)
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Glass Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon / Silicone Spatula | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pizza Stone | Pizza Cutter
- 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. 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!)
- Flour: I haven’t tested this recipe with whole wheat flour, but let me know if you do. You may need a little extra liquid in the dough.
- Pictured Plain Flatbread: Top with 1 teaspoon each of olive oil as directed in step 8. Top each with 1 clove minced garlic. Sprinkle with your desired amount of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. After baking, sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese (if desired).
- Pictured Tomato, Basil, & Mozzarella Flatbread: Slice 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella into thin slices, or use 8 ounces shredded mozzarella. Top each flatbread with 4 ounces. Top each with a handful of fresh tomato slices and a sprinkle of chopped fresh basil. If desired, sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese too. After baking, feel free to top with more chopped fresh basil and/or fresh arugula.
- Double Batch: Dough may easily be doubled by doubling each ingredient. Extend the rise time in step 4 to 1 hour.
- Optional Flavors in Dough: I love adding garlic and Italian seasoning to this dough, as listed in the ingredient list above. If you can’t find a spice labeled “Italian Seasoning” in the spice aisle, use dried oregano, dried basil, and/or dried parsley instead. Honestly, any herb (fresh or dried) that you love works.
Hi Sally- I’ve commented before that I love that other pizza crust- I use it all the time.
So today I tried this for the April challenge. I made 4 individual pizzas, and it turned out amazing. I topped with sauce, spinach, mini pepperoni, mushrooms and 2 kinds cheese.
Thanks for the recipe and the dinner ideas.
Can the recipe be doubled or will that be too much for the mixer?
Sure can! See recipe note.
We loved this recipe. We really appreciate Sally going out of the box, to give us a recipe that was not stressful during this crazy time we are all going through. We were very happy with the results and will make it often. So quick and easy. It will often become a lunch time or last minute meal.
As Always, thank you!
Cheryl
Awesome recipe! So quick and easy!
Today I tried this home made flat bread recipie. I found it really simple and easy to make with ingredients all readily available at home. Luckily I had yeast too. My 8 yr old princess was eager to try it out and she did so with ease and perfection. Since we are Pakistanis we love a bit spicy so I topped it up with bbqued chicken cubes, some capsicum, tomato and onion cubes.
Loved it!
A grt quarantine snack .
Absolutely delicious!! Very easy to make, too! I live at a high altitude (5200ft+), so I definitely recommend letting the dough rise in the fridge for a bit after rising at room temperature. I also highly recommend using oil on your hands when working out the dough after it rises. I do this with my breads after a recommendation by King Arthur Flour and I’m not sure why but I feel like it makes a difference. Definitely plan to make this again!!
This is the first time I made pizza! Too bad I was lack of ingredients for the toppings. But on top of that, turned out that my dry yeast was inactive. But I kept continuing anyway. My kids loved the flatbread pizza! Thanks for the recipe, Sally!
Love this recipe, so easy and quick! My dough was way too sticky to handle but after adding some more flour it turned out great. I topped them with pesto, cherry tomatoes and grated mozzarella and we had a fabulous lunch!
Just completed the challenge. Great recipe. I might brush on slightly more oil next time. Also I didn’t totally believe pressing down to 1/4 inch would rise enough, but it totally did. I had king crab, so I combined that with avocado for one and kept second one fairly plain. Delish!
Perfect recipe! Very easy, forgiving and inexpensive! Made two killer flatbread pizzas!
Such an easy pizza dough. I love the rustic look of stretching it with my hands. My crew just wanted plain cheese pizza with it, but it was a winner!
First of all – thank you, thank you, thank you!! I’ve been feeling like such a failure in the homemade bread area. This recipe gave me new hope. So easy -So tasty – Crusty – Chewy – everything you want in a flatbread pizza. My husband is a Pizza Hut (sorry I did just say that) kind of guy. So I made him a simple BBQ and chicken version – For me was a Mediterranean style. He actually loved mine more than his. That’s pretty much unheard of. My house smells amazing! Thank you so much.
I love how simple and versatile this recipe was. And it tasted delicious, of course! My toppings were mozzarella, kale, tomatoes, and garlic. I’m excited to make it again and experimenting with different toppings!
This was delicious! I made it for lunch with my kids, we made a double batch. It was easy and not a lot of effort.
We made this flatbread last night for our Saturday pizza night and loved the recipe! We used the toppings we had on hand: pepperoni, fresh mozzerella, fresh spinach, parmesan, feta, tomatoes and herbes de provence. I doubled the recipe, so the five of us shared four different flatbreads and some dipped theirs into tomato sauce. It was a great time of memory making for us: everyone pitched in and we had a dance party at the same time! Thank you for the recipe; we’ve enjoyed others this week: your soft pretzels, lemon berry yogurt cake and homemade bagels–all so delicious! We also have chocolate chunk cookie dough chilling in the fridge as I type this. My daughter helped make it and this week we shared the recipe with a French friend of hers (we live in France). Merci again, Sally!
Ok so I think I messed up with the quantity of water ..tried it again and WOW the whole family loved it!!
We’ll definitely be making this again..❤️
I was excited to try this recipe knowing it was so simple. Even though I cooked it too long, my family ate it all. I can only imagine how good it is not overcooked. I plan to do it again with different ingredients.
Loved this recipe! Super easy and turned out great! I did carmelized onions, gorgonzola cheese and walnuts for the toppings. Definitely will be adding to my favorites recipe and will be recommending this recipe to others.
I absolutely loved this recipe! I did find my dough to be very tough but I managed to get it rolled out and it made a delicious flatbread to go with our pasta. I added garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the dough and flavour was incredible!
Made this today for lunch and it was a hit! So good and so easy to make. I found the dough really easy to work with (to knead by hand and shape on the pan). This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Easy peasy. Thanks Sally! Glad I had all the ingredients on hand already so I can keep on isolating and eating carbs.
I made this with 1/2 White Lily AP flour and 1/2 KIng Arthur Bread flour. I did add the extra Tbsp. Of flour the White Lily people suggest you add when using their flour. I mixed it in my stand mixer and let my dough hook do the kneading. My dough was very wet which kept me from being able to roll it real thin. Next time I will add more flour or use all KA bread flour to stiffen the dough up a bit. It was still very good! I topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, green pepper, onion, tomato and my hubby added anchovies to his. I will definitely make again!
My husband and I just made this tonight, and it was delicious! We topped it with garlic, mozzarella cheese, and Italian sausage :).
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. The kids loved it. We will be making this again.
This made delicious pizzas. We topped with pesto, mozzarella, and tomato slices. Yum. We will definitely make this again and experiment with different toppings. Untopped seems perfect to dip in olive oil. Thank you for another great recipe, Sally!
I added my pizza seasoning to the dough. Quick easy delicious. It was great for a Friday night dinner! I’ve share the recipe to many friends
Thank you!
Absolutely fabulous recipe yet again! I did one plain with garlic and Italian seasoning and it was fantastic! Did the other one as a pizza with sauce and cheeses and also great. Love that you make yeast recipes so approachable! Thank you Sally!
I made this tonight and it was SO GOOD!
Made this tonight for dinner! It was quick as far as homemade dough goes, and delicious! I always use your pizza crust recipe when we make pizza at home, but I’m switching to this style from now on! I topped with pesto, mozzarella and feta, olives, spinach, and artichokes… so good
Hi Sally! Another fabulous restaurant quality recipe the whole family enjoyed! It makes staying home and eating in so much more enjoyable during these uncertain times.