Flatbread Pizza Dough Recipe – NO YEAST
This flatbread pizza dough recipe 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, sprinkle with cheese, add veggies, and dinner is done!
You Will 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! You can have your own homemade flatbread prepped, topped, and in the oven in less than 10 minutes. Last-minute dinner for the win! Be sure to try my Easy Margherita Flatbread, BLT Flatbread, Blueberry Goat Cheese Flatbread, and Mediterranean Flatbread.
- 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.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour – All-purpose flour makes a good pizza thin or thick flatbread pizza crust, and it’s what most of us have on-hand. If you prefer thin crust, though, using bread flour instead can add some depth of flavor and crisp texture to the crust.
- Table Salt – Kosher salt, or another large-grain salt, can work if that’s all you have, but a smaller grain mixes in better to create a more even gluten structure in your dough.
- Warm Water – Yes, the water needs to be warm. Cold water can leave you with sticky flatbread pizza dough.
- Olive Oil – Pizza dough needs oil to help it stretch. Most recipes call for olive oil because it adds a rich flavor, but veggie oil will work too if it’s all you have.
- Cornmeal – If you don’t have cornmeal, you can use flour to keep your pizza dough from sticking. You might have a little flour dust on the bottom of your flatbread pizza when you’re done, but it’s better than nothing if you don’t have cornmeal.
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!
Then add water and oil.
Pulse until a dough ball forms (about 1 minute or so). Scrape down sides with a spatula as needed.
Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured surface.
Knead the dough for about 1 minute or until the surface of the dough is smooth.
Divide dough into 2 equal balls. Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball out into a long oval of your desired thickness.
Dust 2 baking sheets with cornmeal and place a flatbread crust on each.
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.
Add desired toppings (like tomato slices and fresh mozzarella cheese if you’re making my 20 Minute Margherita Flatbread) and bake for another 5-10 minutes or so until cheese is melty and toppings are warmed through. Don’t forget to add fresh herbs!
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. Regular 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!
Freezing
- You can freeze the dough OR the par-baked homemade flatbread pizza 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!
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.
FAQ
Using my 5-minute flatbread dough recipe, simply roll out the dough, par-bake the crust, then add toppings and bake for another 10 minutes! This flatbread pizza dough recipe could not be easier for a simple weeknight dinner!
Flatbread dough and homemade pizza dough are not the same. Flatbread dough does not use yeast and does not require extra time to rise. Normal pizza dough uses yeast and creates a thicker, more chewy dough.
There are three reasons that flatbread dough might be extra sticky: too much water in the dough, insufficiently mixed dough, or cold water (rather than warm water). You might be able to save it by adding more flour and kneading it a bit.
Flatbread Pizza Toppings
You can keep the toppings simple with this easy pizza recipe or try some of my favorite variations below!
- Margherita Flatbread Pizza – (pictured above) fresh mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil pesto with drizzle of olive oil – 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 (or tomato sauce), artichoke hearts, feta cheese, ripe tomatoes, and black olives – your favorite Greek flavors on a crispy, crunchy crust
- Salami, green olives, and fresh cracked black pepper – sounds weird but it’s not – it’s delish
- Olive Tapenade, sliced garlic, burrata, and arugula – salty olives and creamy mozzarella come together for a match made in heaven
- Pizza sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, and oregano – keep it classic and simple if you prefer!
- Sausage, sliced mushrooms, mozzarella, bell peppers and red onions – this is one of our family’s personal favorite combinations!
Try these flatbreads next!
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Flatbread Pizza Recipe
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!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 large flatbread crusts (about 8–10 servings) 1x
- Category: Main Dish/Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American/Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- cornmeal for dusting
- desired toppings
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Add flour and salt to a food processor and pulse until well mixed.
- Add water and oil.
- Pulse until a dough ball forms (about 1 minute or so). Scrape down sides as needed.
- Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured surface and knead dough for 1 minute or until the surface of the dough is smooth.
- Divide dough into 2 equal balls.
- Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball out into a long oval to your desired thickness. Thinner is better in this case.
- Dust 2 baking sheets with cornmeal and place a flatbread crust on each.
- 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.
- Brush with olive oil and top with desired toppings and bake for another 5-10 minutes or so. Try my Easy Caprese Flatbread!
- 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.
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!
My crust got too hard on the bottom and we just removed the toppings and ate them because the bottom wasn’t very pleasant to eat. Do you put oil in the bottom to avoid the dryness?
You will have to use some discretion when following any recipe. If it seems like the bottom is getting too done, pull the flatbread out early! All ovens cook differently so that can affect the outcome of the recipe as well! Regarding dryness – the moisture of the flatbread will depend on what you top it with! If you’re using a sauce like pizza sauce or pesto, I wouldn’t recommend adding olive oil. If you aren’t using any sauce on the flatbread, it’s probably going to be dry and that’d be a great time to add some olive oil before topping it. Hope that helps!
Great recipe! It’s my go to easy pizza recipe! How many servings per pizza? It says 161 cals but not sure per what serving. Thnx!!!
Each flatbread is about 4-5 servings.
It took longer to scroll through all of that text than it took to actually make the dough recipe…
Just made this today came out really good super fast thank you for the recipe
Can you freeze this?
Yes! Check the section titled “Freezing” for instructions on freezing the dough or par-baked crust.
Have you ever considered dissolving the Kosher salt in the water and adding it that way, instead of adding it to the dry flour?
That’s a great idea! I haven’t tried it before but I’d love to hear how it goes if you give it a try!
could i make this a day ahead? if so would you recommend putting it in the fridge for 24 hours?
Though I haven’t tried it, I do think this dough would do okay in the fridge for a day or two. I’d recommend removing it from the fridge about 60-90 minutes before you bake it. Just let it sit on the counter to come to room temp. It will be much easier to work with that way.
I’ve made this flatbread dough a few times now and followed your caprese recipe. Everyone loves it.
I am so glad that you’ve enjoyed this flatbread pizza recipe, Margaret! The Caprese pizza is one of our family’s favorites recipes to make with it!
This looks great can’t wait to try it but was just wondering do you need to let the dough rest after reading it ?
No need to let it rest! I will be ready to go right away. You certainly can let it rest though if you want to make it ahead of time.