Is flatbread a mini pizza or an overgrown cracker? It neither flops like pizza nor crunches like a cracker, so it’s not quite either, and yet it has elements of both. It bakes up tender, crispy at the edges, a little salty, a little fatty with olive oil — in short, the perfect bready base for all sorts of toppings.

Flatbread is the sort of thing we love to order at restaurants. It’s such a nice, savory companion for a glass of wine, a beer, or a cocktail. Little did we suspect it would be so easy to make at home. Mix it up, let it rest, give it a short bake — and, boom, it’s out of the oven in all its rustic, unleavened glory! It makes fantastic happy hour fodder, and you can either compose the flatbreads yourself, or put out all the goodies and let your friends make their own.

Our tip: If you like your flatbread even softer, you can bake it for a little less time. Conversely, if you want it to feel more like a cracker, roll it thinner and bake it for a minute or two longer.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup semolina flour
½ tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
¾ cup water
1 large egg
Flake salt, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425º and lightly grease a sheet pan with olive oil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and salt.
3. In a separate small bowl, beat together the egg, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and water.
4. In the large bowl, combine the wet ingredients with the dry, mixing just until a dough is formed.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead it a few times, and form it into a ball. Place it in a bowl, cover it with a tea cloth, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each one out to the thickness of a dime, or about ⅛ inch, and then place them on the baking sheet. Note: Keep the dough quarters covered until you’re ready to roll them out, so they don’t dry out.
7. Brush the flatbreads with olive oil, season with flake salt, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they’re starting to brown at the edges.
8. Move the flatbread to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for 5 minutes.
9. Add your toppings, and then slide the flatbread back into the oven for another 3 minutes or so, enough time to warm the ingredients and allow any cheese to melt. Serve warm.