Easy Recipe: Pizza Flatbread – Easy Kid Lunch
Lunches always baffle me. It seems like it should be so easy, but I’m often stumped.
Leftovers are nice, since we’re home for lunch, but we only have leftovers about half the time. So, often, we fall back on the kids’ favorite that they can make themselves: cheese melted on chips and sliced apple.
Last week, however, we were going to be out for a picnic lunch with friends, and I was going to make pizza for dinner.
An idea was born as I pulled the ingredients out of the fridge while the bread dough whirled in the mixer.
After the dough rose (in the mixer), I added in all the toppings, chopped up into tiny pieces, and mixed it all in – grated cheese and all.
After another short rise, I rolled them into golf-ball sized balls, then rolled them out into flatbreads and let them rise for only 5-10 minutes before popping them into a 425-degree oven.
In 5-8 minutes I had lovely golden pizza flatbreads.
Everyone loved them, they worked well on the picnic, we ate them as a dinner side the next day with cheddar melted on top, and many are in the freezer, waiting to be popped into a toaster for a warm lunch straight from frozen.
Worth it.
Recipe: Pizza Flatbreads
- Make the pizza dough, starting in the morning or at least two hours.
- Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl: 4 c. flour (1/2-3/4 whole wheat if desired), 2 t. yeast, 2 t. salt
- Beat in 1½ c. warm water and ¼ c. olive oil. Stir, then knead (can be done in the bowl), just until dough is smooth.
- Cover bowl with a towel and let it sit 2-7 hours.
2. Prepare toppings: chop, dice, or cut everything quite small and grate cheese
3. Stir in “toppings” and 1 T. pizza seasoning or herb mix. Mix thoroughly; cover and let rise 45-60 minutes.
4. Preheat oven. Dump the dough onto the counter. By hand, roll into golf-ball sized balls. With a rolling pin, roll out into 1/4-in thick flatbreads. Set on parchment-covered baking sheets. Let rise 5-10 minutes on pan.
5. Bake flatbreads at 425º for 5-8 minutes.
Add-in Options (mix-and-match)
- pepperoni – diced small
- crumbled bacon
- salami – diced small
- bell peppers – very fine dice
- zucchini – grated
- mushrooms – very fine dice
- olives – smashed
- grated Mozzarella
- grated Cheddar
- grated Parmesan
My version had Mozzarella, Parmesan, pepperoni (cut into bits by the seven-year-old with kitchen scissors), olives (smashed by the four-year-old), grated zucchini, and half of a bell pepper diced extra-fine.
This menu plan template and master pantry resource will help streamline your kitchen.
