A Year of Yeast: "Everything" Flatbread

First of all, thank you so much for your A-Year-of-Yeast love in response to my first post in this series. I’m glad you are liking this idea. I’m already in bread heaven. I’ve found that there are very few things in life that taste as good as homemade bread, still warm from the oven. It’s truly magical. 

As I mentioned previously, to start this yeast adventure, I’m pulling inspiration from recipes that already exist. “Everything” Bagels are probably one of my favorite (with the exception of Panera’s Cinnamon Crunch Bagels), so when I stumbled across an “Everything” Flatbread recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride, I knew this would be the perfect recipe to try. 

I must warn you, though, don’t eat this bread on a hot date or before an important meeting. The “everything” seasoning includes garlic and onion. As delicious as it may be, the smell and taste tend to linger. Full disclosure here, people. 

The process of making “Everything” Flatbread is pretty simple.

Mix the dough, let it rise. 

Quarter it, and let it rise again.

This recipe calls for a flour paste, which I assume is used to help “everything” stick to the dough. 

This concept was totally new to me, so it was fun to learn that little baker’s secret.

After letting the dough bake for about 15 minutes, I had warm and intensely flavored flatbread. I mean, it doesn’t get any easier than that. 

I’m not sure if it’s beginner’s luck, or if I’m just picking super easy recipes, but other than the time involved, making flatbread was a piece of cake. I highly recommend this recipe for a beginning baker.

Again, a big thanks to Confections of a Foodie Bride for bringing this awesomeness into my life.  

Slightly adapted recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride,”Everything” Flatbread:

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the dough:

1 cup warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast (1/2 envelope)
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as necessary
1 teaspoon salt
Oil for greasing bowl and baking sheet
For the flour paste:
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup water
Cornmeal, for baking sheet

For the “everything” topping:
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (I used a black and white mixture.)

Let’s get baking!

Add the water to the bowl of your mixer fitted with the hook attachment and sprinkle yeast over top, letting it proof for 5-10 minutes.

Add the flour and salt, and knead for 6 minutes until the dough is smooth and only slightly sticky. If most of the dough doesn’t form into a ball after about 2 minutes, add 2-4 tablespoons of flour.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Lightly grease a baking sheet and divide the dough into 4 pieces. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and place a baking sheet or pizza stone into the oven.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, heat the oil and whisk in the flour, sugar, and water until mostly smooth. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat to cool.

In a small bowl, stir together the ingredients for the “everything” topping.

Generously sprinkle cornmeal onto a sheet of parchment or a silicon mat (or something else to help you transfer the dough onto the heated pan in the oven).

Gently stretch a piece of dough into an oval, lifting the dough and adding additional cornmeal to prevent it from sticking.

Use your fingers to press lines or dimples into the dough. 

Then, spread flour paste over the top.

Sprinkle with a generous spoonful of “everything” topping and transfer the dough to the oven.

Repeat for the remaining dough (I formed and baked two flatbreads at a time.) Transfer dough to the pre-heated pan / stone in the oven.

Bake each for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Best enjoyed as fresh as possible.

Happy baking, everyone! Do you think you’ll give this “Everything” Flatbread a try?