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Flatbread Pizza Crust – NO YEAST

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This flatbread pizza crust requires only flour, salt, water and olive oil – NO YEAST! And it takes less than 5 minutes to throw together! Top it with your favorite sauce, cheese and veggies and dinner is done!

Overhead shot of a Caprese flatbread pizza on a white marble counter top

You’ll Love This

  • It takes 5 minutes to make. What more could you want? I love a nice homemade flatbread or pizza dough with yeast, but all that rising means that you need to plan at least a couple hours in advance. I’m not always that on top of things! This flatbread pizza crust can be made, topped and in the oven in less than 10 minutes. Last-minute dinner for the win!
  • You can make it as thick or thin as you want. If you’re feeding a big family, roll the dough crispy cracker thin. If you’re more into a doughy flatbread leave it a little thicker for a more pillowy, chewy texture!
  • Your kids can help make dinner! You might be surprised how much your kids are willing to help out with dinner if you give them the opportunity. Let them help you measure the flour and pour the water. Once the dough ball comes together, let them help you knead it and get their hands messy. Chances are good once they see all the hard work (their hard work) that went into making dinner, they’ll be more likely to eat it.

Instructions

Add flour and salt to a food processor and pulse until well mixed. You can also just use a large bowl and fork to combine all the ingredients!

Overhead shot of a food processor with flour and salt in it

Then add water and oil.

Overhead shot of a food processor with flour salt and oil in it

Pulse until a dough ball forms (about 1 minute or so). Scrape down sides as needed.

Overhead shot of a food processor with flatbread pizza dough in it

Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured surface.

Fresh flatbread dough on a white marble counter top

Knead the dough for about 1 minute or until the surface of the dough is smooth. 

Fresh flatbread dough on a white marble counter top

Divide dough into 2 equal balls. Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball out into a long oval of your desired thickness. 

Fresh flatbread dough being rolled out on a white marble counter top

Dust 2 baking sheets with cornmeal and place a flatbread crust on each.

Flatbread dough on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet

Poke the surface of the flatbread all over with a fork. Bake flatbreads for 5-8 minutes or until the edges of the flatbread are turning golden brown and the flatbread is nearly cooked through. 

Flatbread dough on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet

Brush with olive oil.

Olive oil being brushed on a flatbread dough on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet

And top with desired toppings (this one is my Caprese Flatbread) and bake for another 5-10 minutes or so. 

Overhead shot of Caprese flatbread on a baking sheet

Flatbread vs. Pizza

  • The yeast. Pizza dough typically has yeast (and needs time to rise) while flatbread dough typically doesn’t. HOWEVER, some pizza dough doesn’t have yeast and some flatbread dough does. So…you’ll learn pretty fast after a quick Google search that the lines are very blurred and there’s a lot of gray area between flatbread and pizza dough. And that’s okay! I use them interchangeably and you can too!
  • The shape. Pizza tends to be round (and sometimes even square) while flatbreads seem to be more oval. Who made up these rules? I have no idea. I like to let my pizza and flatbread dough form organically as I roll it out or form it with my hands – don’t worry about following societal norms. Let your flatbread pizza take on its own shape!
  • The toppings. I read somewhere that flatbreads typically have little to no cheese…HUH?! Have you seen my flatbreads? Cause they are loaded with cheese. So again, who made these rules up? Cheese is life. Top your flatbread the way you want! Might I suggest a simple Caprese topping? Or perhaps a veggie-forward Mediterranean Flatbread? Better yet, how about a Mexican Street Corn Flatbread!
Overhead shot of a Caprese flatbread pizza on a white marble counter top

Freezing

  • You can freeze the dough OR the par-baked flatbread crust! Yes, you read that right. Frozen dough means you can be ready for dinner at a moment’s notice!
    • After you knead your dough, wrap it up and pop it in the freezer. Next time you want flatbread, allow the dough to thaw on the counter (for about 1-2 hours) and then follow the instructions in the recipe card.
    • After you par-bake the dough you can also wrap it up and pop it in your freezer so you’ve got ready-made flatbread for every occasion! When you’re ready to eat, top your frozen flatbread and bake it according to the directions in the recipe card. You may need to add a couple additional minutes of bake time to get the crust cooked completely but with it being so thin this shouldn’t take too long at all!
Close up shot of a Caprese flatbread pizza on a white marble counter top

Tips

  • Use table salt. I’ve tried this with Kosher salt and other larger cuts of salt and they just don’t mix in as well. I rarely use anything but Kosher salt in my recipes, but this flatbread is much better with the smaller grains of salt. However, Kosher salt will work if it’s all you’ve got!
  • Par-baking the flatbread is a must if you’re looking for a crispy crust. I am still surprised when people say they don’t par-bake their crust! Par-baking allows the inside of the dough to cook without the outside getting dark golden brown. This means that when you top it, it’s not going to get soggy. And when you bake it, it’s going to get perfectly crisp!
  • Give it a quick brush with olive oil after par-baking to get the crust just a little bit crispier and darker golden brown!
  • Don’t go too crazy with the toppings. As the famous saying goes, less really is more in the case of flatbread toppings. This is an unleavened, thin flatbread crust so it’s not going to hold up to three cups of fresh mozzarella or a mountain of meat. Try adding more flavorful toppings so you need less. *See my favorite flatbread toppings below.
Overhead shot of a Caprese flatbread pizza on a white marble counter top

Favorite Toppings

  • Caprese Flatbread (pictured above) – fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, and basil – pretty standard and also pretty great
  • Mexican Street Corn Flatbread – sweet corn, tangy lime cream sauce, and crumbled cotija cheese – just like elote corn but piled high on a crispy crust
  • Simple Mediterranean Flatbread – spinach pesto, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, ripe tomatoes, and black olives – your favorite Greek flavors on a crispy, crunchy crust
  • Caramelized Onion & Gorgonzola Flatbread – seriously you’ve gotta try this one
  • salami and green olives – sounds weird but it’s not – it’s delish
  • olive tapenade and burrata – salty olives and creamy mozzarella come together for a match made in heaven

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Flatbread Pizza Recipe

★★★★★

4.9 from 15 reviews

  • Author: Kylie Lato
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 2 large flatbread crusts (about 8–10 servings) 1x
Print Recipe

Description

This flatbread pizza dough takes less than 5 minutes to make and comes together right in the food processor with only flour, salt, water and olive oil!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • cornmeal for dusting
  • desired toppings

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 550 degrees.
  2. Add flour and salt to a food processor and pulse until well mixed.
  3. Add water and oil.
  4. Pulse until a dough ball forms (about 1 minute or so). Scrape down sides as needed. 
  5. Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured surface and knead dough for 1 minute or until the surface of the dough is smooth.
  6. Divide dough into 2 equal balls.
  7. Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball out into a long oval to your desired thickness. Thinner is better in this case.
  8. Dust 2 baking sheets with cornmeal and place a flatbread crust on each.
  9. Poke the surface of the flatbread all over with a fork.
  10. Bake flatbreads for 5-8 minutes or until the edges of the flatbread are turning golden brown and the flatbread is nearly cooked through.
  11. Brush with olive oil and top with desired toppings and bake for another 5-10 minutes or so. Try my Easy Caprese Flatbread!
  12. Enjoy!

Notes

Use table salt. I’ve tried this with Kosher salt and other larger cuts of salt and they just don’t mix in as well. I rarely use anything but Kosher salt in my recipes, but this flatbread is much better with the smaller grains of salt.

Par-baking the flatbread is a must if you’re looking for a crispy crust. I am still surprised when people say they don’t par-bake their crust! Par-baking allows the inside of the dough to cook without the outside getting dark golden brown. This means that when you top it, it’s not going to get soggy. And when you bake it, it’s going to get perfectly crisp!

Don’t go too crazy with the toppings. As the famous saying goes, less really is more in the case of flatbread toppings. This is an unleavened, thin flatbread crust so it’s not going to hold up to three cups of fresh mozzarella or a mountain of meat. Try adding more flavorful toppings so you need less.

  • Category: Main Dish/Appetizer
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American/Italian

Keywords: flatbread dough, pizza dough, food processor dough, 5 minute dough

This post was originally published in May 2019. It was updated in March 2020 to include process shots, step-by-step instructions, and tips for making the best flatbread dough every single time!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kylie Lato

    June 3, 2019 at 10:41 am

    You can have pizza or flatbread ready at a moment’s notice! No yeast means no rise time. Which means you can get dinner on the table faster!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      February 20, 2020 at 9:42 pm

      Oh yeah for sure! I would just add a couple extra minutes of cook time but keep a close eye on it. There won’t be a huge difference with just 50 degrees. Great question Sarah!

      Reply

  4. cinthia Bazar

    March 27, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    The best pizza recipe !!! For someone who it’s not a great cooker. Delicious!! But I still managed to forget to put olive oil before the toppings 😂😂. Anyway still excellent. Thanks for the recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      March 27, 2020 at 8:16 pm

      Don’t beat yourself up about that – the olive oil isn’t totally necessary!! Just adds a little extra flavor 🙂 I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for leaving a review; I really appreciate it!!

      Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 1, 2020 at 11:48 am

      I have not tried, but I would imagine that it would turn out great! I think whole wheat flour would give it a bit more of a chewy texture, but I think the flavor would still be delicious!

      Reply

      • Leslie

        May 14, 2020 at 1:53 pm

        Do you think seltzer work in place of warm water to give the whole wheat more air and make it less chewy? We were in Rome at a cooking class and the teacher made a flatbread with (regular) flour and seltzer a pinch of salt, sugar and an Italian drop of olive oil and it was so delicious and very light. She could not give me any measurements as it was her grandmothers recipe so I have been searching for something similar all over recipe sites but I need to use whole wheat flour. Any help/thoughts would be appreciated.

      • Kylie Lato

        May 15, 2020 at 10:29 am

        Oh wow – that does sound delicious! Ya know, it might be worth a shot! I haven’t worked too much with whole wheat flour, but the couple times I’ve used it, it has definitely given a more chewy texture. Seltzer water might be just the thing for it! I’d love to hear how it turns out if you end up giving it a try. Great question, Leslie – I wish I had a better answer! 🙂

  6. Elizabeth Ballantyne

    April 2, 2020 at 10:31 am

    I have not tried it though I do intend to do so. I wanted to ask rather than dusting a pan to cook it. Thoughts of using a stone. I would expect it would lessen the cooking time. Thoughts?

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 2, 2020 at 11:23 am

      I think a pizza stone would work just fine! Do you normally dust a stone? Or is it pretty non-stick? I would keep a close eye on the flatbread and like you said, expect to cut down on the bake time. I’d love to hear how it turned out if you do end up trying it. Thanks Elizabeth!

      Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 3, 2020 at 10:06 am

      Yes – great question Sara! I think a hand mixer would work well. Might have to use your hands or a fork as the dough comes together, but yes I think it would work!

      Reply

  9. Ashley

    April 4, 2020 at 9:34 am

    Hey there! Just wondering about the nutrition facts. Are the 10 servings for just one of the 2 balls divided in the recipe? Or is that the whole recipe? I’m wondering, if I wanted to make single portions maybe I should divide into four balls. I will be trying this recipe today! Thank you!!

    Reply

  11. Julie

    April 4, 2020 at 11:04 am

    Kylie,
    Will try this. Can you share your recipe for the photo attached to this flatbread recipe? It looks like a balsamic glaze, with tomatoes, spinach and cheese. Many thanks

    Reply

  12. Cora

    April 4, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    I made this for the first time yesterday, doing a halved recipe just to try it out. I mixed it up by hand, just kind of cutting it around with a butter knife, and it came together really easily, then I kneaded it for about 2 min. I still cut it into 2 pieces, and rolled one out to fit my 10 inch oven-safe skillet, dusted with the cornmeal, and popped it in the oven at 500 (the highest my oven will go) and after about 10 min, it looked like the picture and I gave it a brush of olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic powder. When I checked on it a few minutes later, maybe 4 or 5, it had puffed up and turned into a pita pocket! I am sure this is because I forgot to poke it all over with the fork. It was pretty delightful, and I am excited to try it again as a pizza. I was wondering, do you ever pre heat the baking pan when you make this? I know that people sometimes, when making a pizza in cast iron, pre-heat the skillet, and then sprinkle the cornmeal over the hot skillet–if the cornmeal browns, that indicates that the skillet is nice and hot, and is ready for the dough. Just wondering whether this would make for a crispier bottom crust.
    Thanks for sharing, this is such an easy and versatile dough.

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 4, 2020 at 2:50 pm

      WOOOHOOO! Glad you liked this recipe! It does get pretty puffy without a few quick pokes from the fork! Preheating the pan is a great idea. I think it would definitely make it extra crispy on the bottom. Definitely worth a shot!

      Reply

  14. Paula

    April 7, 2020 at 4:20 am

    In staying home like everyone else right now. Have been so tempted to go to the store just for yeast,but scared to do so. Thank you for this recipe!!!I have a feeling this is going to be the best pizza we have ever made😷💕

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 7, 2020 at 9:03 am

      Could not agree more – we are all safer at home! And thank goodness there are plenty of recipes out there that don’t use yeast!!! I hope that you enjoy this one, Paula! 🙂

      Reply

  15. Maureen

    April 9, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    Love this! The second time I made it both flatbreads had a huge bubble in it – what can I do to prevent that? I did poke a lot of holes in dough. No matter, it’s easy and delicious! I made one caprese and one Greek style with tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, oregano and feta cheese – amazing!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 10, 2020 at 10:52 am

      I would try poking holes all over and then check the dough after a few minutes in the oven and continue to pop the holes with a fork as it bakes 🙂 That should do the trick! So glad that you enjoyed this recipe!! I have a Mediterranean flatbread recipe coming to the blog soon also! 🙂

      Reply

  18. Frank

    April 13, 2020 at 8:43 am

    Always wanted to try making this
    It was soo easy and made masks
    Mixed by hand
    Didn’t knead it enough
    Oven not hot enough
    Forgot to prick
    But nonetheless what a forgiving recipe- topped with smoke cheddar tomaties onion and garlic- fab
    Can’t wait to try again without the oversights

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 15, 2020 at 7:37 pm

      Hmmm…I have not ever used gluten free flour so I cannot speak to whether it would work or not! If you do end up using it, please let me know how it turns out!! 🙂

      Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 16, 2020 at 5:44 pm

      Yes! I usually have a frozen ball of this dough in my freezer at all times. You can either thaw in the fridge overnight before using or let it sit out on the counter for a couple hours until thawed. Either way you thaw, I like to let it sit out until it comes to room temperature because it’s a lot easier to work with. It can be hard to work with when the dough is too cold. Great question, Pam! I hope you love this flatbread crust!!!

      Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 25, 2020 at 1:07 pm

      I haven’t actually tried the recipe with bread flour, but it would definitely be worth a shot!!! This recipe is pretty forgiving in general, so I think it could work. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you do try it!! Thanks Kaye!

      Reply

  24. Jeff

    April 24, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    Love it! We’re hunkered down like everyone and we were looking for a way to make pizza dough with what we had on hand. We cooked ours outside on the grill and it was spectacular–sort of a wood fired oven result. Looking forward to making more on the patio this summer!

    If you’re worried about the food processor we mixed ours by hand and would do it that way again. It came out great and saves on cleanup!

    Thanks for sharing your recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  25. Jan R.

    April 25, 2020 at 8:58 am

    Made this recipe on a whim because I have been spending hours each day making facemasks for healthcare workers and wanted a quick dinner. It turned out amazing!!! I loved it and my husband did, too! We are down to just the two of us now so will be keeping one ball in the freezer from now on! I also made your vegan lentil tortilla soup and it was amazing! Our vegan daughter loved it. Thanks for this wonderful blog!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      April 25, 2020 at 1:35 pm

      Thank you so much for the work you are doing making face masks. That is so important right now! I’m glad that you and your husband enjoyed this recipe for a quick and easy dinner. We’ve got an extra ball of dough in the freezer right now too! Thanks for leaving a review, Jan. I really appreciate it 🙂

      Reply

  26. Jess

    April 26, 2020 at 8:08 am

    Tried this as a quick dinner and it was perfect!! A thick enough crust to support some toppings, but minimal make time. Thankyou so much for the recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  28. Kelly T Pollock

    May 19, 2020 at 9:21 am

    Quick and easy to make! My food processor is broken, so I just mixed the ingredients by hand and kneaded slightly longer.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  29. Angelina

    May 22, 2020 at 4:37 pm

    Really good! I’ve tried a few pizza crust recipes lately and haven’t enjoyed them, but these were wonderful. I didn’t have cornmeal, so I sprayed olive oil and sprinkled some flour on the pans under the crust for pre-baking. Also did half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose. Delicious, perfectly crispy (but not too cracker-like!), will keep adding our go-to.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      May 23, 2020 at 9:50 am

      I will have to try adding some whole wheat flour the next time we make this crust! What a great idea 🙂 I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Angelina. Thanks so much for leaving a review!

      Reply

  30. Sarah

    May 24, 2020 at 1:00 pm

    I found this recipe when I didn’t have much time to get dinner on the table and needed a quick flatbread for pizza. This fit the ticket! Will definitely use again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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