Easy Grilled Flatbread
Sometimes I make something so wonderful I have to drop everything to photograph it and share it with you. Even with a handful of recipes in the queue, some things are too delish to hold back from you and this is one of those recipes!
This grilled flatbread is not only easy as can be, but it’s a fabulous way to get fresh, warm, bread for your summer dinners without turning on your oven.
I’ve been loving baking sourdough lately, but having my oven at 500F for 1-2 hours has just been too much with this midwest heat wave. This bread is the answer to all my problems.
A super simple and basic bread dough is kneaded together and left to proof on your counter for 30-60 mins while you prep the rest of your meal. While your grill heats up, you seperate the dough into 4 sections and spread out a bit. Smush in some fresh garlic or chopped olives if you wish, brush with olive oil, and you’re good to go.
When the grill is ready, place the dough rounds on for 3/4 mins, flip, and grill for 3/4 mins more. Brush with more olive oil, sprinkle with flakey salt and fresh herbs and you’re good to go! Seriously you can have this bread on your table in an hour or less and that’s a huge win in my book.
We’ve been enjoying this as part of one of my favorite types of meals: a spread of dips, meats, cheeses, and spreads with this crisp bread on the side and a glass of chilled wine. Is there anything better?
I made these with garlic, rosemary, and parsley, but the options are endless. I can’t wait to try with chopped kalamata olives worked into the dough, and I’m thinking sprinkling grated parmesan on top of the freshly baked loaves would be fantastic as well. Are you going to try it or what? Hop to it!
Easy Grilled Flatbread
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour, bread or all-purpose* (396 g)
- 1 teaspoon salt (3.5 g)
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast (4 g)
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing (43 g)
- Flaky salt, for finishing
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- (a large sprig of rosemary and parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl (regular or the bowl of a stand mixer,) stir together the flour, salt and yeast.
- Made a well in the middle of the bowl and add the warm water and oil.
- Stir together until the mixture forms a shaggy mass. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and and mix on low speed for 3-4 minutes.
- If mixing by hand, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is soft and smooth, 6-8 minutes. (If dough feels sticky sprinkle on additional flour.)
- Transfer the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let proof for 30-60 minutes, until almost doubled in volume.
- Preheat your grill, (or you could use a grill pan.)
- Divide the dough into 4 even pieces with oiled hands. Smush a clove of minced garlic into each round. Make sure the dough is covered with oil on both sides.
- When the grill is ready, place the dough rounds onto the grate with the garlic side up. (They can lose shape a bit, it's Ok if they aren't perfect.)
- Grill for 3-4 mins per side, checking to make sure the bottom is golden before flipping.
- When done, brush with olive oil and sprinkles with flakey sea salt and fresh herbs.
- Enjoy warm or room temperature, but I think they are best warm.
Notes
* I have tried this with both bread and AP flour and while I prefer bread flour, if you only have AP it will work too!
Instead of/in addition to garlic you could also try chopped greek olives or other herbs kneaded into the dough.
Recipe adapted slightly from Food52
You’re making me so mad that I don’t have a grill!!!
Who doesn’t have a grill? Try a grill plan or a large cast iron skillet.
I make this in a cast iron often- It works great!
Waaaaay too much water in this recipe. I had to use at least an extra 100g flour to get it anywhere near a consistency that was kneed-able. Maybe a better recipe if using a mixer.
So much of the water/flour ratio depends on climate, elevation etc so I wonder if that plays a part. I make this recipe weekly and it hasn’t been too much water for me!
Love this recipe, absolute solid base for all kinds of variations.
Current house favorite is substitute of salt for BBQ Chilli hot salt and 1tsp of Feta Cheese spices mixed in, a must for those that need a dipping bread with their BBQ dinner.
OMG I NEED TO DO THIS ASAP
Wow, these are delicious! I used bread flour and my grill pan and they turned out great! I usually find bread flour very tricky and sticky to work with, but your tip of using oiled hands, not floured, really did the trick. I did end up dividing the dough into more than four pieces because that way they fit better in the pan. I will definitely be making these again!
Making bread is it’s own reward. Thank GOD for such sublime pleasures. Now, go fishing!
This is my favorite recipe for the grill and I come back to it again and again. After some trial and error I’ve found the best way for me to form the flatbreads is to do each at the grill, pulling out lumps of dough from the main mass, stretching out the flatbread with well-oiled hands and laying them on the grill from there. I haven’t experimented with flavors so this technique wouldn’t work as well with multiple flavors from a single batch but they taste great with the olive oil and a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
I made this last night. It was quite easy and fast and tasted great. I was expecting a thinner naan style flatbread, but this puffed up quite a bit and was very very good dipped in olive oil and balsamic. I will make it again, next time adding some different flavorings!
Wow!!! I just made this and the bread turned out so extremely good!!! The whole family is impressed, which is pretty awesome, and the house is still nice and cool! Thank you!!!
Josey
Christchurch, NZ
Thank you! The flatbreads came out really good and my boys finished them off real quick! I used basil, garlic and black olive topping! Yummylicious!
These are so delicious! Super easy to make for anything! Had them tonight with a salad and they went great together! I have already made these many times and will continue to!
Thank yoU! I have been making them lately in a cast iron skillet and that has been working great!
Made it twice now. Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Love it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Loved this recipe! Made it multiple times. Great on grill as well as a pizza oven. Thank you for sharing!
How large should the four dough pieces be just before grilling?
I like mine to be 6-8 inches
What setting/temp do you put your grill on?
Hi! I always have my grill on high on all burners
do you have measurements in weight? Flour is impossible to measure reliably in cups. I tried this recipe twice and had extremely different results because of the amount of flower.
You’re right- I generally prefer weight too. I am going to add the weight measurements now!
What a fantastic recipe. Simple but everyone loved it. Thank you Audra.
Made moussaka and these accompanied it really well. Next time will try oil and balsamic (thanks Amelia!).
Delicious! Next time I will make them thinner though, closer to 8 inches. I kneaded herbs and garlic into the dough. My dough was super sticky, had to add a lot of flour but it was a humid summer day, should have cut back on the water a bit. Will definitely make again. I like the idea of making them on the stove in the winter.
Thank you! I have made these a lot. I am wondering if I could make the dough and freeze it to take it to the cottage with me. Have you tried to freeze the dough?
Yes you could! Freeze and then let it thaw and proof at room temp
Love it! Super easy, works great on the grill or on a griddle pan and never fails to impress. My only remark is that so far, each time I’ve had to add a lot more flour to not end up with a sticky mess. Other than that, great, even without garlic or other toppings.
This turned out better than I imagined. It really was that staple and is now a staple in my kitchen.
Absolutely loved every single bite of this simple to make flatbread!
Has anyone made pizza style flatbread with these? Anything I should consider?
You definitely can! What I suggest is grilling the flatbread on one side, and then flipping it and adding toppings. This way both sides of the crust get a little charred and crisp!