Grill/Barbecue

Grilled Flatbread

August 14, 2014
4.6
5 Ratings
Photo by Sarah Stone
  • Makes 4 medium flatbreads
What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3 cups bread flour (396 g)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (3.5 g)
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast (4 g)
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (292.5 g)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (43 g), plus more for brushing
  • Flaky salt, for finishing
  • Leaves of 1 to 2 sprigs rosemary, for finishing
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt to combine. Add the yeast and mix to combine.
  2. Make a well in the center of the bowl, and add the water and olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the mixture forms a shaggy mass.
  3. On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball, 6 to 9 minutes (or 3 to 4 minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook).
  4. Transfer the dough to a medium, lightly oiled bowl. Loosely cover, and let rise until the dough is double in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  5. Preheat the grill or grill pan until smoking hot. Clean and oil the grates of the grill.
  6. While the grill is heating up, divide the dough into four (roughly even) pieces; it will be on the sticky side, so oil your hands a little to make the dough easier to handle. Holding the dough on its outside edges, stretch it gently, letting gravity do most of the work to form it into an oblong shape. Lightly oil both sides of the dough. (I do this on a baking sheet that is greased in oil -- I stretch the dough and place it onto the baking sheet, which is covered in oil. When I get out to the grill, I flip it over quickly to oil the other side, and, while it’s still in my hand, I throw it onto the grill grates).
  7. Cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. When the breads are still hot from the grill, brush with more olive oil, and top with flaky salt and rosemary leaves. They are best warm, but will keep for a couple days too – they make for a good picnic lunch with chicken salad, a vessel for hummus or other dips, or -- my favorite -- slathered with pesto and ricotta cheese.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • bottomsupranch
    bottomsupranch
  • Karen Williams
    Karen Williams
  • Joana
    Joana
  • Valerie Bryan
    Valerie Bryan
  • Micki Balder
    Micki Balder
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

28 Reviews

Aimlively February 20, 2021
I use this recipe every chance I get and never remembered to review it until now! I've made flatbreads, gyros, pizzas, cut it up into little bite sized slices and served with a cheese board, you name it! I've developed a habit of only adding 1 cup of water at first and then adding extra tablespoons if it's too dry at the start, and I almost never reach the full 1 1/4 cup. Love this flatbread!
 
moody B. July 9, 2018
This worked very well. I may have added a tad too much water in the beginning - the dough was very sticky and continually stuck to my counter. But I kept going and sprinkled tiny bits of flour onto the dough as I kneaded until it wasn't quite as sticky and was smooth. I proofed in the oven with a tray of boiling water for 1 hour 15 minutes. I actually separated the dough into 8 smaller balls and cooked 2 at a time in a cast iron pan on the stove - only took about 90 seconds per side with a smoking skillet. This is the first bread-y recipe I've had great success with! Gives me the confidence to tackle something else. Thanks you!
 
Andrea M. April 29, 2018
Delicious! I used 50g less water and plain, rather than bread flour. So easy and comforting. Served with this... https://www.nigella.com/recipes/warm-shredded-lamb-salad-with-mint-and-pomegranate
 
bottomsupranch April 16, 2017
Great recipe! I followed it as is with no problems. Divided it into 12 and grilled it on a grill pan. SOOO good!
 
Gus May 26, 2016
Most bakers use weights of ingredients as percentages of the flour weight, This recipe has a hydration of 78% which is really difficult to work with for most people. Cut the water back to one cup and you are closer to 62% or a standard New York Style pizza dough.
 
Karen W. May 22, 2016
Doubled it, added fresh minced garlic and a large handful of cilantro leaves from the garden to the dough and omitted the extra salt and rosemary. This turned out incredibly good, though the dough was too slack for my personal preferences; I simply added additional flour. Next time I'll start with less water and go from there.
 
fishinwidow April 16, 2016
Loved it! Used 14oz bread flour - all other measurements the same. Cooked in grill pan on top of stove. They puffed up more than expected. The flavor was great. Ate with ricotta, roasted tomatoes, pesto. Thinking maybe dates, honey, and ricotta for morning...
 
Joana January 10, 2016
How can I store the batter? and for how long?
 
CanadaDan December 26, 2015
great recipe! after kneading i proofed for about 5 hours in my fridge before transferring to a warmed then turned off oven for about 2 hours and they were perfect on the grill. thanks very much
 
nilly August 25, 2015
Can this dough be baked? I need to make multiple flatbreads at once and cooking on a grill pan is not ideal.
 
Valerie B. August 21, 2015
I have a brand new Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe and I would love to make this flatbread on it. Since it has two grill pans that can be used to cook both sides simultaneously (like a panini press), would this half the grill time? As in, just 4-5 min total? I've not tried to make bread before.
 
Micki B. August 20, 2015
I love this recipe, and have made it multiple times. Sometimes it's a little sticky, but I power through and it still turns out delicious. Last night I stuffed them with a little gorgonzola. EXTRA DELICIOUS. Awesome idea.
 
Elida July 27, 2015
The weight measurements are off completely! I should have followed the cups measurements as those seem more the bread percentages of 75-85. the weights given in the recipe are off, are there any adjustments since this recipe e=was posted?
 
Carrie W. July 26, 2015
Griddle pan works wonderfully. I used my spritzer to cover the pan with olive oil and waited until it was smoking to add the dough. Everyone raved which was especially nice since I have never made bread in my life. I the dough to prove for two hours under a thin tea towel which didn't seem to cause any harm. Served with a dish of Cous Cous and Fesenjan.
 
Carrie W. June 14, 2015
Can you make these on a griddle pan? Or maybe under a broiler?
 
Jodi L. June 14, 2015
I have made them on the griddle on our stove top. I would assume a griddle pan would work just as well. I would make sure it is good and hot. I heat our griddle between 400-450. I prefer the grill for ease of cleaning but during inclement weather or empty grill tanks....this works just as good!
 
Charles W. September 21, 2014
I'm a restaurant owner and chef and I bake all the time. I followed the recipe exactly as I would the first time with any recipe. It took nearly twice the time rise and I wound up with an unbelievably sticky mess that was completely unworkable. I didnt even try to salvage this mess. I'm surprised that everybody else seems to have no issue here.
 
Stephanie September 22, 2014
Hi Charles,

If you are still interested in giving the recipe a go, the tweaks I made to the method might help -

Rather than stretching the dough and greasing it in oil on a baking sheet, I simply get the grill going nicely, oil up my hands really well and form balls to throw on the grill. I don't even stretch it out much at all, I really like it thicker.. Once on the grill, the pieces are easily turned over with tongs.

It's a much simpler approach and the only way I'll do it now!
 
Charles W. September 22, 2014
Do you have the amounts in weight? This dough was far to wet to even make a ball.
 
Stephanie September 22, 2014
Ahhh unfortunately I don't have a kitchen scale just yet.. I definitely need one. Perhaps because I'm using AP Flour rather than Bread Flour it's a little different? I also make the dough much further ahead time wise just to let it take its time rising. I made this last night in fact, and prepped the dough a good few hours before grilling.
 
Jodi L. June 14, 2015
There are weights in the recipe. I add more flour than it calls for but that is typical in bread baking. We love this bread. I make a double batch and freeze it. The kids pop it into the toaster when they want a piece. I add the herbs into the dough instead of sprinkling on top as well. Saves a step in the grilling process. Sometimes I skip the herbs or change out the rosemary for chives, scallions, etc..
 
Elida July 27, 2015
I agree! Didn't work for me....the weight measurements are not correct...
 
Meghan J. September 17, 2014
Could you use whole wheat flour instead? Would you need to alter any measurements?
 
Lindsey September 8, 2014
This recipe is so easy and SO good. All of my dinner guests were impressed and gobbled it up. I made and olive oil dipping sauce with roasted garlic, chili flakes, rock salt & rosemary!
 
amy.d.cutting September 8, 2014
Very good! Forgot to do the rosemary & salt after the grill in part because it was devoured by people before we were able to get to it. Perfectly complemented the rest of the dishes and was fantastic dunked in the chimichurri sauce!
 
Valley August 26, 2014
I made this tonight, and just like Stephanie, I used AP flour (ran out of bread flour). It was delicious! I sprinkled with some Maldon after taking off the grill. Wonderful recipe, thanks for sharing!