- Merrill
If I haven't mentioned this before, I'm a big fan of Williams-Sonoma's cookbooks -- in fact, I bought an entire series of their books back when I ran my own catering business and was looking for inspiration.
The photos are stunning, and the recipes tend to be approachable without being totally predictable (Thai-inspired guacamole was a big hit at my parties for many years). And it was Williams-Sonoma's Grilling book that first introduced me to the concept of grilled pizza. Their recipe for grilled herbed pizza dough is one I latched onto, and have adapted over the years to suit lots of different occasions.
This week, I was reminded of it because of the grilling with lemon and thyme recipe contest theme, and I thought I'd share one of my iterations: simple grilled flatbreads that marry lemon zest with fennel seeds and an assortment of woodsy herbs. I recommend grilling up a batch of these and serving them with lamb or chicken kebabs and a cool yogurt dip of some kind.
Grilled Lemon and Herb Flatbread
Makes 6 individual flatbreads
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing
1. Stir together the yeast, 3/4 cup warm water and sugar and set aside for a few minutes until foamy. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, herbs, fennel seeds, lemon zest, salt, pepper and olive oil. Stir in the yeast mixture and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and add the dough, turning it to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
2. Prepare a medium-hot grill. Divide the dough in half and form three equal balls from each (6 balls total). On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 1/4-inch thick round or oval. Brush both sides with olive oil. Place the rounds around the perimeter of the grill, where the heat is less intense. Cook, flipping once with a spatula, until well-marked and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Be careful not to char the flatbreads. Serve immediately, or wrap in aluminum foil and keep in a warm oven until ready to eat.
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).
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10 Comments
cmignac
June 20, 2010
Hi Merrill: I love this blog beyond belief mostly because I'm an amatuer wanna-be foodie. I've been into grilling flatbread lately which is also my foray onto yeast dough (scary!) This dough was much wetter than others I have tried and I am wondering if they just differ that much as a genre? My dough is still rising so no final product yet. I did double checked my amounts and *think* I used the right amounts. Thanks for helping me stretch my baking/cooking chops!!
Christy
Christy
Merrill S.
June 21, 2010
Thank you so much for your nice comment! I'm curious about the dough turning out wet, as mine does not usually come out that way. Any chance it was wet outside when you made it? How did it turn out?
MonkeyBusiness
June 20, 2010
Food 52 continues to raise the esteem of my cooking in the eyes of my husband & family. A few weeks ago I bought some commercially prepared Naan which they loved and I thought was sufficient at best. Tonight for our Father's Day Feast....I prepared this Flatbread, which he declared beyond delicious and said that this was one reason he isn't ever that excited about going out to dinner. He can eat better at home....the menu included a wonderful beef filet, a bibb lettuce salad with herbs from our garden and goat cheese from the same Farmers Market as the beef....along with smashed & roasted potatoes...the flatbread was the icing on the proverbial cake! Thank you for making me look so good to my family.
Merrill S.
June 21, 2010
What a lovely comment! I'm so glad this turned out well for you -- especially on Father's Day! Your menu sounds spectacular.
MexicoKaren
June 20, 2010
Thanks for another good recipe, Merrill - I will definitely try this. We have interesting "charcoal" here in Mexico - it is real charcoal, not pressed briquets. It is a little easier to control - burns a little faster, but softer. I agree about Williams-Sonoma because of the wonderful pictures. I like seeing pictures of the ingredients, but could you also show (throughout the site) more pix of the finished product? Does anyone remember the George Carlin bit about "picky eaters"? "Is there a picture of it in the cookbook? Bet it doesn't look like THAT." How will we know if we don't see a finished picture? Thanks, Merrill - for all your good work,
Merrill S.
June 21, 2010
We would love to provide "finished shots" of the recipes Amanda and I write about each week. Our limited resources have so far allowed for just the ingredient shots (we only have our wonderful photographer, Sarah Shatz, one day a week), but stay tuned: we're hoping to include more shots of finished dishes from now on.
cookingathome
June 15, 2010
I, too, love to grill pizza in the warm weather. It's fun to do and it amazes me that it never fails to impress. These flatbreads do sound perfect to pair with grilled meats.
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