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.
My boys and I loved making this recipe! It allows for versatility with toppings for my older son who likes pepperonis and my younger son who cannot tolerate tomato sauce. We added mushrooms and garlic to ours. So delicious! It makes being at home a little easier when you can have delicious pizza without too much effort. 🙂
I made this this evening for my husband and I and it turned out great! We topped ours with some turkey sausage and pizza sauce. I didn’t have any Italian Seasoning so I added some dried oregano and some minced garlic and it was wonderful!
This crust is SOOO good! The garlic powder and Italian seasoning give it that extra level of flavor. The texture is phenomenal. I made it with basic pepperoni pizza ingredients. With most pizzas, I usually get bored with it after a couple slices. With this, I couldn’t stop eating it! Homerun recipe!
I love this recipe! It’s so fast and easy and delicious too! I can’t wait to try it again with different toppings!
Yum! Another winner! I didn’t have much left for toppings, so we ended up with sauted onions, artichoke hearts and mozzarella. Very tasty! Thank you!
Another AMAZING recipe! Super easy steps to follow, bakes up perfectly and the addition of the Italian spices to the dough gives it great flavor (if you are on the fence about adding the seasoning just do it!). I loved this recipe, will definitely be making it again.
Very easy recipe and delish! However, I had problems with the inside crust not fully baking. I want to try this again but am wondering what I did or didn’t do to cause this problem? I did use the Instant Yeast as that’s all I was able to find.
Hi Paula! So glad you enjoyed this flatbread pizza recipe. Was your flatbread on the thicker side? The flatter and thinner you roll out the dough, the easier it is to fully cook inside. I recommend a little thinner next time or you can lower the oven temperature and bake the flatbread for a little longer to help ensure even baking.
Thanks for a fabulous and easy pizza flatbread recipe. It came together quickly and the instructions were easy to follow. My toddler loved this too!
I made this recipe with 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 white whole-wheat flour because I’m trying to consume more whole grains. Since I’m trying to eat more healthy, we had plain flatbread (with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper) with soup. It was delicious! I do wish I had followed the recipe and just made it with AP flour because it did seem like the whole wheat flour made it a little dry. I’m sure if we had stuck to the recipe it would have been delicious, just like all the other Sally recipes I’ve tried.
Sally, my two sons and I made your flatbread for supper last night – it was so good!! We topped it with barbeque chicken. The crust recipe was very easy – even easier than your pizza crust recipe. And super tasty, too! Soft yet crisp! We will definitely make this over and over again! And we’ll make it without any toppings too – and dip it in lots of different sauces! Thank you for sharing your amazing wealth of delicious recipes!
This flatbread is amazing! Sally, thanks for another fantastic recipe.
We topped ours with bbq sauce, sautéed yellow bell peppers, onions and asparagus, and lots of cheese!
I’m hoping to make this for my family for dinner tomorrow but I need clarification on one thing – If I am topping with traditional pizza toppings like sauce, cheese, pepperoni, olives etc., do I bake the flatbreads with all those toppings on it or do I bake the flatbreads first and then put the toppings on and bake it for a little bit longer?
Hi Kate! You can add those toppings right onto the un-baked dough like you would any other toppings. No nee to pre-bake the crust first (unless you want to, but I never do).
I love this recipe! It is so easy and quick! Most importantly, the results are delicious! A big plus is how versatile it is. You can make breadsticks, pizza, or anything you want with this delicious dough! It is highly customizable!
Great recipe! I loved the flavor and texture of the crust. I baked on a pizza stone for only 8 minutes and they cake out perfect.
Easy and delicious!
I made a double batch so we had leftovers for lunches and it turned out fantastic! We made two traditional pizzas with tomato based pizza sauce, pepperoni, veggies and mozzarella. Another with with garlic butter and mozzarella and the fourth with pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes.
I like this recipe better than my usual pizza dough recipe and look forward to using it again!
My family and I all loved this recipe. My 7 year old daughter loved helping knead and roll the dough. We each topped our pizzas with what we wanted: homemade pizza sauce, mozzarella, sausage, ham, olives, and spinach. Yummy!
Another amazing recipe! We topped it with homemade marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and leftover Easter ham. It was a hit with everyone, including my picky 3-year-old.
Easy and delicious! Already coming up with different topping for next time. Can’t wait to make it again.
Hi Sally! I have finally got my hands on a dry yeast that mentions that I can add it directly to the flour and not in milk or liquid. I am confused of what is the best way to make the flatbread dough as i dont want to waste the yeast due to the shortage during the lockdown.
Hi Khushali, follow this dough recipe exactly whether you are using instant or active dry yeast. See my recipe note, too!
Thanks so much for this easy and great tasting recipe….it was easy to follow and baked up great…I will be using it many times over in future….we used leftover pulled chicken and cheddar cheese as toppings….it was gone in seconds when I took it out of the oven….loved by everyone
Absolutely delicious! The flatbread was very easy to make. I love that it needs only 45 minutes to rise!
Super easy to make and so tasty! We’ve made this multiple times as a side for soup and also as a pizza!
This is such a great recipe! There’s always so much variety with toppings on pizza’s that it will be infinitely useful in the coming weeks I think!
Love love LOVE this recipe! I have made lots of pizza doughs but never one that uses so few ingredients, takes minimal amount of time and effort AND most importantly, tastes incredible! I see a lot of flatbread dinners in our future 🙂
We turned ours into pizzas but brushed garlic butter on all the edges… what pizza dreams are made of!
Delicious and fun to make!
I made this for dinner last night and it was great! I like the flavor of a wheat flatbread or pizza crust but I do not like how dense and chewy it can be. So I subbed in about 1/2 cup of the AP flour for wheat flour and it was perfect! Just the right amount of added flavor without compromising the texture. I’ll certainly be making this again 🙂
I made this tonight, but my flatbread was not flat at all! It was quite puffy like pizza crust. Still delicious, but not a flatbread! My husband is happy I considered this a “failure” because I’m going to try again (he was a huge fan) Any tips or ideas where I went wrong? The only thing I can think of is that I didn’t roll it thin enough…
Hi Jaime! My flatbread isn’t as flat if I don’t roll it thin enough (which I’ve done plenty of times). You want a VERY thin dough before applying the toppings. Luckily this is an easy fix if you try the recipe again!
This flatbread recipe is amazing. I used bread flour and added a teaspoon of garlic powder. The bbq chicken cheese version was so good!! So glad the baking challenge was something with so few ingredients. Everyone said we should make this pizza often. Thanks so much Sally! We appreciated having a recipe we could do as a family during this tough time.
Hi Sally. Loved your recipe. My first ever successful pizza bread. The whole family loved it. It was gone in no time. Its definitely a keeper. Oh! btw i made it a fee times and it always came out perfect. Thanks a lot for such a great recipe
I would rate this recipe more than 5 stars since it’s not just tasty but easy as well. I tried this with both all purpose flour and another version with whole wheat flour. I personally liked wheat version better. But I didn’t make any other changes to the recipe.