Flatbread with Ricotta, Bacon and Caramelized Onion

Flatbread or Crispy thin-crust pizza? Please call it whatever you want.

There are many pizza crust (or flatbread) recipes in cookbooks and on the internet, and most of them claim to be the best… and, yes, I agree that most recipes work very well. However, I couldn't find a recipe which gives really crisp yet slightly chewy texture to the dough... until, I tried 'Thin-Crust Pizza' recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

The recipe from America's Test Kitchen requires at least one day (up to three days) of resting time for the flatbread dough, which seems too long but worthwhile to try! It is by far the most successful recipe that I tried using a home oven.

I made a white flatbread with ricotta, bacon and caramelized onions for tonight’s dinner. So, simple – spread white cheese mixture made with ricotta and parmigiano-reggiano, then top the pizza with caramelized onions and crisp bacon. Yum! If you prepare all the ingredients ahead of time, you will need only 20 minutes to finish up the flatbread.

If you don’t like cheese mixture, bacon & onion idea, you can make any other flatbread with this recipe. The crust itself has a very neutral flavor, so this dough can be transformed into any kind of flatbread … from simple savory one with tomato sauce & cheese to sweet dessert flatbread with fruits or chocolate.


Wine Pairing Idea:
2010 Opera 02 Lambrusco di Modena Secco Emilia-Romagna

This wine pairing is based on the idea of "local flavor with local wine". Parmigiano-Reggiano is from the same region, Emilia-Romagna, and so the balsamic vinegar is. This fizzy Lambrusco is dry (secco) yet with slight residual sugar... which will add more flavor to the bacon and slightly sweet caramelized onion. Also, the flavor of this Lambrusco is very close to the flavor of balsamic vinegar which will brighten up the bacon and caramelized onion! Well balanced acidity and tannin of the wine will provide enough structure to hold the flavor of wine and the flatbread.


Flatbread with Ricotta, Bacon and Caramelized Onion
(Yield: two flatbreads / Cooking time: 20 minutes*)

* 20 minutes is the final cooking time. You will need at least a day to prepare the dough, and about 45 minutes to prepare the toppings.


Ingredients:
Flatbread dough *
+ 3 cups bread flour (=16.5oz)
+ 2 tsp sugar
+ 0.5 tsp instant yeast
+ 1⅓ cup icy water
+ 1.5 tsp salt
+ 1 Tbsp olive oil

*Flatbread dough recipe is based on 'Thin-Crust Pizza' recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

Ricotta Spread and other Toppings
+ 6 oz ricotta
+ 1 oz grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
+ 200g onion (one small onion)
+ 200g bacon
+ 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
+ high quality balsamic vinegar



Procedures:
1. Blend bread flour, sugar and instant yeast. Add icy water and mix well and work the dough just until the dough has homogeneous consistency. Cover the dough and let it sit for 10 minutes so the flour can fully absorb the water. Then, add olive oil and salt to the dough and work the dough again until the oil is absorbed into the dough.


2. Shape the dough into a round shape, and place in a greased bowl. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours (up to three days).


3. Mix ricotta and grated parmigiano-reggiano well and season with freshly ground black pepper.


4. Cut bacons into 1" pieces, and cook over low-medium heat to render the fat and make the bacons crispy for about 15 minutes.


5. Take out the crispy bacons from the pan and leave some of the bacon fat in the pan. Add sliced onions to the pan, and caramelize the onion with the bacon fat over low-medium heat for about 20 minutes until the onions are golden brown.


! NOTE: You can prepare the cheese mixture, crispy bacon and caramelized onions a day before. Then, you will need to just assemble the flatbread and bake in the oven.

6. Place a pizza stone on the top rack, and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). By placing the pizza stone at the highest position in the oven, we are mimicking a pizza oven which has a very low ceiling. The low ceiling keeps the heat as close as possible to the top of pizza.


7-1. Divide the rested flatbread dough into two, and roll each to about 16" x 10" size. Transfer the rolled dough on a sheet of parchment paper. If the dough springs back, cover the dough with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 10 minutes to relax the gluten.
7-2. Spread ricotta & parmigiano-reggiano on the top of thinly rolled dough
7-3. ... and scatter the caramelized onion
7-4. ... and crispy bacon pieces on top of the cheese spread


8. Slide the flatbread on the pizza stone with the parchment paper. Bake about 12 minutes until the top of the pizza is baked to golden brown color.


9. Take out the baked flatbread and drizzle good quality balsamic vinegar on top. Balsamic vinegar will balance out the the heaviness from bacon and caramelized onion.


Enjoy~