Here’s a pizza recipe that rocks for an awesome date night experience.  Don’t settle for Little Caesar’s when you can make your own gourmet flatbread!  For those of you who just want the recipe, I’ll make it quick.  For those who want some tips on making flatbreads, hang with me to the bottom of the post!

Ingredients:

• Flour (just for keeping the dough from sticking)
• 1/2 ball of Fresh pizza dough
• Olive Oil
• Pesto
• Sea salt & cracked pepper
• Gourmet mushroom blend
• Asparagus spear tips (cut to an appetizing size)
• Red onion slices
• Artichoke hearts (quartered)
• Fresh mozzarella cheese
• Fresh goat cheese

Put your stone in and preheat your oven to 500°.  Let the stone heat up for 15 minutes or more while you prepare the flatbread.  Use plenty of flour to make sure the dough doesn’t stick.  I roll the dough as thin as I can get it.  I also like an irregular shape because it looks more artisan that way!

First comes a thin coat of olive oil to keep the dough from burning and create a moisture barrier when adding the ingredients.  I do mean thin, because if you add too much olive oil, it will pool up on the dough as the pizza cooks and make it soggy.  Besides, the pest has a ton of olive oil in it too.  Spread the pesto over the dough with a spoon.  Sprinkle with salt & cracked pepper.

Add your ingredients: Mushrooms, artichoke hearts, asparagus spears, red onion.  Next add lumps of the mozzarella and goat cheese.  A little more salt & pepper on the top is fine.  For an extra kick, sprinkle a little red pepper.

Bake on the upper middle rack 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the crust are starting to turn golden brown.  Keep an eye on your flatbread!  Every oven cooks a little different.  This flatbread will serve a pretty hungry couple with a piece or two left over.

Some tips & tricks for great flatbreads

In my part of the world, I get my flatbread ingredients at Publix because of the fresh pizza dough they have in the bakery.  It makes all the difference!  With one pizza dough package, as well as the rest of the ingredients – get the larger jar of artichoke hearts – I can make 2 flatbreads.

I’ve also got a couple of tools that really make the whole process easier (and besides, they’re just cool).  First, I wouldn’t make one without my baker’s peel.  This lets me roll out my dough, add all my ingredients and just slide it into the oven, as long as I put plenty of flour on it.

I also use a french roller instead of one of those regular ones that have the handles.  The french roller gives you more control over rolling the dough really thin and doesn’t make lines in the dough at the edges of the roller.

Next is a baking stone.  I’ve cooked them on the rack, on a cookie sheet and the bottom of a roasting pan (not recommended!), but nothing compares to a baking stone.  The important thing here is getting the oven good and hot – 500° – and letting that stone sit in it for about 15 minutes (or longer!) while you’re preparing the pizza.  The stone will cook your crust evenly, but it needs to be hot when you slide the pizza on it.

There are different opinions about where to place the pizza in the oven, middle or top rack.  I’ve done it both ways and had good results with either.  I tend to use the middle rack for no other reason than I always forget to move the rack to the top and it’s a hassle once the stone is hot.  I think that the bigger difference maker is the stone.

I also bought an awesome pizza cutter from Amazon that’s no much better than the round ones everyone uses.  I like this one because it makes a clean cut instead of pushing all the toppings like the round ones do.

Lastly, for a nice presentation, I found these cool pizza trays and stands.  These get the pizzas or flatbreads off the table and out of the way, especially when you have a few guests.

Enjoy!