Levantine Flatbread*
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 3-4 Tbsp muhammara
  • 1 Tbsp parsley, coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup tomato, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • ⅓ cup goat cheese
  • ½ lemon, cut into wedges
  • .
  • Muhammara:
  • 3 large red bell peppers
  • 50g breadcrumbs
  • ½ Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 1½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp dried Aleppo chilli flakes
  • 1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
  • 50g walnuts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • .
  • Pizza Dough:*
  • 1⅓ cups warm water
  • 2¼ tsp instant yeast
  • 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
  1. Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet on to the bottom rack of a cold oven. Set the oven to a 500 degree broil. Halve the bell peppers and brush both sides with olive oil. Place bell peppers on a baking sheet, skin side up and roast on the top rack of the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the skins are charred and black. (confused? The pizza stone is heating on a rack below the peppers- we're hitting two birds with one stone here)
  2. Once the peppers are roasted, remove them from the oven and let cool then peel and discard the skin (this doesn't have to be perfect, some lovely charred pepper skin bits won't hurt the dish any).
  3. Move the pizza stone to the middle rack of the oven and continue to heat it, turning the oven from a 500 degree broil to just a 500 degree bake (moving the heat source from exclusively the top of the oven to the top and bottom elements).
  4. Place all muhammara ingredients in a food processor and pulse a couple times to create a coarse paste, scraping down the sides as needed- we want to keep quite a bit of texture so it's better to under-blend this than over-blend.
  5. Dust a flat surface with some coarse semolina and stretch out the portion of pizza dough you will be using. Take the heated pizza stone/tray out of the oven and transfer the dough directly on to it. This will cause the dough to start cooking right away, ensuring a nice and crispy crust (if you're using a pre-baked crust, skip this step).
  6. Spread a couple tablespoons of the muhammara on to the pizza dough. Top with goat cheese and sesame seeds. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges of the pizza dough are golden. Remove from oven and top with tomatoes, parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
  7. To make dough: Preheat oven to 200°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine water and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until yeast has dissolved and mixture is frothy. Add in flour, sugar, salt, and olive oil; knead on a low speed for 5-10 minutes until dough has formed. It should be elastic and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl; cover with aluminum foil, and place bowl in the oven. TURN OVEN OFF. Let the dough rise in the warm oven for about 2 hours until it has doubled in size. Divide into two balls of dough, then use one for the remainder of this recipe. (Prepare another pizza with the second ball of dough, or store in the fridge for another night.)
Notes
* Or your favourite store bought dough/crust. This pizza dough recipe is my favourite recipe, and it makes enough for two or three 12 inch pizzas, depending on how thin you like your crust. Once the dough has risen, simply divide it in into thirds, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Recipe by Port and Fin at https://portandfin.com/levantine-flatbread/