Pizza-type meals are easy to pull together on a weeknight, as long as you plan ahead for dough or keep the store-bought, refrigerated bags of it in stock. But this recipe from John Whaite's new book, "Perfect Plates in 5 Ingredients" reminds us of another way to go.
In it, you make a dough with self-rising flour (which contains baking powder and typically a little salt). The good news is, this dough rolls out like a summer afternoon and bakes up crisp like a thin-crust pizza. Pop a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in the oven, crank up the temperature to 500 degrees and do the most minimal prep of cutting roasted red pepper strips while the dough naps ever so briefly.
The topping combination deserves a nod of its own. An almost sheer swath of hummus acts as the base for Gorgonzola dolce - a mild blue cheese - and the peppers. Drizzles of sweet chile sauce finish the flatbread upon serving.
It did not escape our notice that the ingredients total eight, not the five promised in the book's title. We won't get fooled again.
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Hummus, Pepper and Gorgonzola Flatbread
6 servings
A pizza stone works the best here, but a heavy baking sheet (not rimmed) will suffice.
Serve with a green salad, right on top of the flatbread, if you like.
Adapted from "Perfect Plates in 5 Ingredients: 100 Stunning Yet Simple Recipes From the Winner of 'The Great British Baking Show,'" by John Whaite (Kyle, May 2017).
Ingredients
2 cups self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 roasted red peppers (from a jar)
2 tablespoons plain hummus
3 1/2 ounces Gorgonzola dolce (sweet)
2 teaspoons sweet chile dipping sauce, for serving
Steps
Place a pizza stone or a heavy unrimmed baking sheet in the oven (middle rack); preheat to 500 degrees.
Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl, then add the water and a tablespoon of the oil, stirring to form a dough. Knead in the bowl for a few minutes, until smooth. Shape it into a ball and let rest for 18 minutes in warm, draft-free spot.
Meanwhile, lightly flour a work surface. Cut the roasted red peppers into long, thin strips.
Roll out the dough on the floured surface to a thin, 10-by-11-inch rectangle, then slide it onto a piece of parchment paper or onto a rimmed baking sheet that's upside down.
Spread the hummus evenly over the flatbread dough base, then scatter the peppers around. Distribute pinches of the Gorgonzola dolce evenly over the surface. Use the parchment or inverted baking sheet to slide the pizza onto the hot stone or baking sheet in the oven; bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden and crisped around the edges.
Drizzle the flatbread with the chile dipping sauce just before serving (hot).
Nutrition | Per serving (based on 6): 230 calories, 8 g protein, 32 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 920 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 0 g sugar
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