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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
F ANTASTIC F LATBREAD
By Daniel Neman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
It isn’t quite pizza.
But it sort of is.
Flatbread is pizza’s
fl amboyant cousin. There is
a strong DNA connection,
and they often look alike.
But there is a difference, and
after considerable thought
and refl ection I think I have
determined what it is: tomato
sauce.
Pizza has it. Flatbread does
not. If fl atbread has tomato
sauce, it is pizza. If pizza does
not have tomato sauce, it
may still call itself pizza, but
deep in its heart it knows it
is really just fl atbread that is
putting on airs.
I am speaking here of the
common use of the word
“fl atbread.” Broadly speaking,
fl atbread is any bread that
is thin and fl at, such as pita
or lavash or naan. But the
fl atbread I am talking about
is the one that looks and acts
like pizza, but isn’t.
The fl atbread I am talking
about has toppings, which
means the variety you can
make is endless. You could
even bake a fl atbread crust
and smear it with peanut
butter and jelly if you wanted,
and now that I think about it
that would taste pretty good.
I made eight fl atbreads
with different toppings
and they were all, if I may
dispense with my customary
modesty, awfully good. Kind of
spectacular, actually.
But before we get to the
toppings, we fi rst must
discuss the crust. I tried two
different recipes.
The fi rst was thinner and
crispier. The dough took just
one hour to rise, but it does
take a little more work to
make, and it has to be knead-
ed for fi ve to seven minutes.
The second was a bit
thicker, chewier and heartier.
It also had a more developed
taste, but to achieve that taste
it took two hours to rise. On
the other hand, it required no
kneading at all.
I recommend either one. If
time is an issue, you can make
and refrigerate the dough
one day before you cook it;
fl atbread doughs also freeze
particularly well.
For the toppings, I began
with a couple of fl atbreads for
breakfast. The fi rst one, Steak
and Eggs Flatbread, is versa-
tile enough to be enjoyed at
any meal. Here, the fl atbread
acts more or less as toast,
but with a superior fl avor, on
which to enjoy a hearty meal
of steak and a fried egg. It’s
best when you pierce the yolk,
which spills sensuously over
the meat and crust.
A handful of cooked whole
cherry tomatoes adds extra
pop — not only of fl avor but
also the physical soft pop-
ping sensation in your mouth
when you bite into them. I
1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
Salt, to taste
2 portions fl atbread crust
5 ounces Fontina cheese,
shredded or sliced thin
Chicken, cheddar and barbecue sauce fl atbread.
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS
Steak and eggs fl atbread.
couldn’t stop eating it, which
was unfortunate because I
had seven more fl atbreads
to go.
I used the same general
idea of fl atbread topped with
eggs and meat for my next
breakfast-oriented dish, Sau-
sage and Eggs Flatbread. This
time, the eggs are scrambled,
which makes a vital difference
in both fl avor and texture. I
cut up the sausage fi rst and
scrambled it into the eggs.
It is remarkable how easy
it was to make something so
deliciously distinctive.
I stayed with the general
breakfast theme one last time
for a dish I call Everything
but the Bagel Flatbread. You
completely bake the fl atbread
fi rst — which you do with
most of these recipes — and
then smear it with cream
cheese and top it with slices of
smoked salmon, a sprinkling
of capers and a light scatter-
ing of thin slices of red onion.
I would never suggest that
anything could be better than
a bagel with lox, so I will just
say that a fl atbread with lox
is every bit as good.
For a more substantial
meal, I made a fl atbread
with chunks of juicy chicken,
melted cheddar cheese and
barbecue sauce, plus a few
more slices of that red onion.
Photographer Hillary Levin,
who took the pictures that ac-
1. Heat oil in medium pan
over medium heat until hot.
Add onions, reduce heat to
low and cook slowly, stirring
frequently, until they become
sweet and caramelized and
turn the color of coffee with
a lot of cream, about 30 min-
utes. Salt to taste. Onions may
be made a day or two ahead
and refrigerated.
2. Preheat oven to 500
degrees and place pizza stone
or a baking sheet in the lower
and upper thirds of the oven.
3. Roll out fl atbread dough
until thin. Place on two pieces
of parchment paper on top of
upside-down baking sheets,
prick several times with a fork
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS and slide parchment onto the
hot pizza stones or baking
sheets.
4. Bake until dough turns
company this article, took one Gorgonzola cheese, and ap-
look at it and suggested I was plied it to the top of fl atbread. a light golden brown, 9 to 10
minutes. Remove from oven.
There is something about
copying a popular dish from
fi gs that bring out the best in Top with cheese and then
California Pizza Kitchen.
I cannot tell a lie. I copied a Gorgonzola (it’s a blue cheese), caramelized onions. Return
to oven and cook until cheese
popular dish from California and vice versa, but it is all
Pizza Kitchen. But it is just so even better when topped with melts, about 2 minutes.
good — both theirs and mine.
And mine is cheaper.
Next, I made what is prob-
ably the most unusual of the
varieties I tried. Franks and
Beans Flatbread, as I call
it, is franks and beans on
fl atbread.
I was inspired, I guess, by
the English dish of baked
beans on toast, which is much
better than it sounds. But it
isn’t as good as Franks and
Beans Flatbread, for several
reasons: Flatbread is better
than toast, it has hot dogs in
it and also I made homemade
baked beans.
The last three fl atbreads I
made are all vegetarian.
Caramelized Onions and
Fontina Flatbread took a
minor investment of time
in order to caramelize the
onions. Cooking them in a bit
of oil over a low heat tempers
the onions’ sharp notes and
brings out a rich, mellow
sweetness. There is nothing
quite like it, but it takes about
a half-hour to cook and you
have to stir it frequently.
Fennel Flatbread is
basically the same idea. The
licorice-tasting bulb of fennel
is sliced thin and mixed with
olive oil and Parmesan, which
here takes the place of the
Fontina. The fennel is not
caramelized, but roasting it
on the fl atbread for just a few
minutes makes the fl avor
richer and warmer.
It also melts the Parmesan,
which acts in a small way as
a sharp counterpoint to the
rounded tones of the fennel.
And fi nally I took the
unbeatable pairing of fi gs and
a drizzle of sweet honey.
— Recipe by Daniel Neman
CHICKEN, CHEDDAR
EVERYTHING
AND BARBECUE
SAUCE FLATBREAD BUT THE BAGEL
FLATBREAD
Yield: 1 serving
Yield: 1 serving
1 portion fl atbread
1 cup cooked chicken, cut into
small cubes or shredded
3/4 cup shredded
cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 or 2 thin slices red onion
1. Preheat oven to 500
degrees and place pizza stone
or a baking sheet in the lower
third of the oven.
2. Roll out fl atbread dough
until thin. Place on parchment
paper on top of upside-down
baking sheet, prick several
times with a fork and slide
parchment onto the hot pizza
stone or baking sheet. Bake
until golden brown, 9 to 10
minutes. If dough puffs up
while cooking, defl ate by prick-
ing more times with a fork.
3. Sprinkle with cheddar
cheese and top with pieces of
chicken. Drizzle with barbecue
sauce and scatter pieces of
red onion on top. Return to
oven and cook until the cheese
melts, about 2 minutes.
1 portion fl atbread dough
1 tablespoon cream cheese
1 1/2 ounces smoked salmon
1/2 teaspoon capers
1 or 2 thin slices red onion
1 teaspoon everything-
bagel mix (sesame
seeds, poppy seeds,
onion fl akes), optional
1. Preheat oven to 500
degrees and place pizza stone
or a baking sheet in the lower
third of the oven.
2. Roll out fl atbread dough
until thin. Place on parchment
paper on top of upside-down
baking sheet, prick several
times with a fork and slide
parchment onto the hot pizza
stone or baking sheet. Bake
until golden brown, 9 to 10
minutes. If dough puffs up
while cooking, defl ate by
pricking more times with a
fork.
3. Allow fl atbread to cool
for a couple of minutes, then
spread with cream cheese and
cover with smoked salmon.
— Recipe by Daniel Neman Sprinkle capers on top, and
scatter with thin pieces of red
onion. Finish with everything-
bagel mix, if desired.
CARAMELIZED
ONIONS AND
FONTINA
FLATBREAD
Yield: 2 servings
— Recipe by Daniel Neman
See Flatbread/Page 2B
Happy that early October brought rain rather than snow
Last year it snowed on the 9th
of October. I’m glad to see it rain
instead. Not that snow is bad —
any precipitation is better than
none.
It’s the quality I question.
It takes 10 inches of snow to
equal 1 inch of rain. Now you see
what I mean. Rain seems to have
a better quality and is warmer as
well! What we need now that it’s
raining: It should persist until we
have duration of rain and soaking
to set our landscape up for a better
• Plant spring bulbs among hos-
tas, ferns, and daylilies or ground-
Garden Chores
covers. As these plants grow in the
• Pinch off any tomatoes that are spring they will cover dying bulb
too small to ripen. This will channel foliage.
WENDY SCHMIDT
energy into ripening the remaining
• Container grown and B&B
full-size fruits.
(balled and burlapped) trees and
• Newly seeded lawns should not shrubs can be planted. Loosen soil
winter. Parched plants are prone to
be cut until they are at least 2 or 3
winterkill.
in an area fi ve times the diameter of
inches tall.
It is time to admire the autumn
the root ball before planting. Mulch
• Autumn is a good time to add
colors. The color is more saturated
well after watering.
(intense) and becomes a more beauti- manure, compost or leaf mold to
• For best bloom later this winter,
ful photo on an overcast or rainy day. garden soils to increase organic mat- Christmas cactus, potted azaleas,
ter content.
It’s good to think positive. A better
and kalanchoe may be left outdoors
BETWEEN
THE ROWS
photo is a plus.
until night temperatures drop to
about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Transplant deciduous trees once
they have dropped their leaves.
• Plant tulips now.
• Trees may be fertilized now. This
is best done after soil test guidelines.
• Store apples in a cool base-
ment in perforated bags for good air
circulation.
If you have garden questions or
comments, please write to green-
gardencolumn@yahoo.com. Happy
gardening!