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.
Tasty and super easy! I put Italian seasoning, mozzarella, and tomato on mine, and I’m planning to make plain flatbread later.
Thanks for the great recipe. Looks like something you might get at a restaurant, but all homemade and so easy!
One of the easiest and yummiest recipes I’ve ever made. So tasty and versatile, it’s also delicious on its own and dangerously easy to make, I think we’ve already baked it four or five times…! Thank you Sally
Such a great recipe Sally! I used whole wheat flour and it still turned out really well in the end!
Giving it 4 star though because the dough was still really sticky even after adding the tbsp of extra flour. Not sure if it was because of it being whole wheat, but nonetheless the dough after rising was still ok to work with and the outcome was amazing! Thanks for this recipe! A keeper.
This recipe is great! I’ve made the pizzas twice already and my husband has asked for it again. Highly recommend grilling them if you can!
So easy and delicious. I oversaw a 10 and 12 year old as they made these. Came out crisp and perfect and they commented that we will never need to order pizza again.
Thank you for the video since it looked easy enough to try. I’m glad I did because the achievement was worth the hunt for ingredients. People… the garlic in the dough is a game changer! Tasted like an authentic pizza coming out of my own kitchen! So glad I gave it a try. It’s an easy recipe that makes me believe I can conquer anything. I’m looking at you yeast!
Great recipe! I made Hawaiian and BBQ Chicken. I really like the thin crust.
This was delicious! New favorite pizza crust!!
I am used to using yeast all the time, but I have never made a flatbread. I couldn’t make it the prettiest, but my family and I dipped it in some homemade herb butter and it was delicious!!!
Hi Sally! I made your recipe for the first time tonight for dinner (I’m writing from Italy and now it’s 8.45 pm)… easy and delicious, I used two different toppings, tomato sauce and mozzarella for the first and the second with mozzarella fresh spinach and artichokes …so good! Next time I’ll prepare with gorgonzola cheese and apples… a great combo! Thank you for your amazing recipes
Veronica
I made this last night…I made a Margarita pizza and garlic cheese bread! It turned out perfect! It was chewy and delicious!
I love how easy the recipe is to follow and how Sally gives such good, clear instructions…it really helps! This will be my new go to pizza dough! Or flatbread!
Every recipe from Sally I’ve tried so far I love and I have learned so much from her!
This recipe is so simple! I like that the dough can be made ahead since it finishes rising in the fridge. This way I can make it the night before, then have fresh homemade pizza for dinner the next day. My husband piled on the toppings and loved it!
Good recipe, would definitely recommend baking on a pizza stone/steel though if using any form of shredded cheese. You need a pretty hot surface to get the bottom done correctly without burning the cheese. I was around 10 minute bake times.
Also, I used a 25% sourdough starter instead of yeast which worked well, but use about 60-70% of the water amount in the recipe. So it’d be about 110 ml of water with the 160g of starter.
Amazing recipe. The dough cooked perfectly to my liking and tasted absolutely great. Definitely a recipe to use for time to come!
Faced my fear of baking with yeast today to make this flatbread recipe. Sooo much easier than I thought it would be! Even better, I still have half of the dough to bake another creation!
This recipe seems fantastic! I had planned to try it as my first ever bread because it says it’s easy for beginners. And especially because I showed it to hubby (aka – Mr. Picky) and he said he can’t wait! But cannot find yeast. However, it will be my first time working with yeast so I am happy there are detailed instructions. Will definitely save this for as soon as I can. The one question I had was when it comes to olive oil is there a preference between light and extra virgin? Thanks!
Hope you try it soon! I usually bake/cook with extra virgin olive oil. (Especially doughs/breads.)
So easy to make, and everyone loved it – disappeared very quickly! Thank you for another great recipe, Sally!
This flatbread was so good and incredibly easy to make! This is my new go-to for a quick pizza lunch for the family. I also use it for cheesy breadsticks.
I made this recipe tonight and the whole family loved them! Best homemade pizzas we’ve had.
Sally, we have been baking with you since you first started your blog. My kids have grown up knowing you by first name recipe LOL
“Is this Sally’s recipe?!”
We love your baking challenges and this was our first time trying flat bread. it’s a hit
This pizza was so delish! The dough was easy to work with, and so flavorful! Great job on this one Sally!
I have made this twice now, different toppings, and I am already thinking of the next bake. The recipe is written perfectly, easy step by step to follow. Both times my husband asked what ‘brand’ . I am so happy I tried it. Thanks!!
I’ve made this twice already this month! It’s a keeper!
Sally! We loved this recipe so easy and so quick. My boys loved the crunchy but soft texture, I will definitely make this again. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes.♥️
Okay this is the recipe we needed during this quarantine! We made bbq chicken and spinach artichoke! SO good and easy! Thank you for sharing!
First time making my own dough for pizza and it was worth it! It was very simple and delish! This will definitely be in our regular rotation now….any excuse for more pizza!
This was quicker and easier than regular pizza dough. Bonus that my husband and I each had our own personal flatbread. He was very happy when he came home to dinner. I made margherita flatbread with sliced grape tomatoes and my fresh basil that is starting to come back to life. Thanks for this fast dinner that I was able to pull together on a busy weeknight!
My boyfriend made this as his first attempt at a dough recipe ever and it came out really well. We put pesto, mozzarella and parm cheeses on ours and dunked it in marinara sauce – yum!
So delicious! We made ours like traditional pizzas. We both loved the crispy crust! Works perfectly for couples as you can have your own topping.