Y’all know I’m obsessed with pizza right? Well, I’ve actually really been into flatbreads lately. They’re a little less heavy than pizza because they tend to have a thinner crust and they don’t have a lot of sauce or cheese. But they are piled high with tons of flavorful toppings. For this Caramelized Onion and Artichoke Flatbread I combined sweet caramelized onions with a light sprinkle of salty feta, briny artichoke hearts, and a handful of spinach for good measure. It’s a winning combo. Healthy, delicious, and as fancy as something you’d find at a bistro or wine bar.
I made my own crust for this flatbread, but you could easily top a toasted tortilla or store-bought crust to make it that much faster and easier. If using a tortilla, I suggest baking it for a few minutes before topping to make sure it’s nice and crispy (like I did with these Quick Fix Salad Bar Pizzas). If you want to make your own crust using the method I did below, just remember that you’ll need to mix the dough the night before, so it has time to ferment. That’s when the magic happens!
One last note. When I began making my dough before I went to bed, I realized that I was just shy of the two cups of flour needed to make it. I subbed 1/2 cup of regular all-purpose flour with whole wheat and it worked beautifully. It was just enough whole wheat flour to add flavor and texture, but not so much to make the dough heavy or dense. Sometimes mistakes end up producing wonderful results!
Caramelized Onion and Artichoke Flatbread
Servings 3 to 4 servings (1/3 of flatbread)Ingredients
DOUGH
- 2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.28)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp instant yeast ($0.02)
- 3/4-1 cup water ($0.00)
CARAMELIZED ONIONS*
- 3 yellow onions ($0.96)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
FLATBREAD TOPPINGS
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning blend ($0.15)
- 1/4 lb. frozen spinach ( $0.50)
- 1/2 15oz. can quartered artichoke hearts** ($1.16)
- 2 oz. feta cheese ($1.25)
Instructions
- To make the dough, begin the night before. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast until evenly combined. Add water, starting with just 3/4 cup, and stir until a sticky, shaggy ball of dough forms. The total amount of water needed will depend on the moisture level in your flour. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
- The next day, begin by preparing the caramelized onions. Thinly slice three onions and place them in a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook the onions and butter over low heat, stirring occasionally, for an hour, or until they are very soft and deep golden brown in color.
- To make the flatbread, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil, then spread 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over the surface. Sprinkle the fermented dough with flour to prevent it from sticking to your hands, scrape it out of the bowl onto a floured surface, and flatten it into a disc. Continue to stretch and press the dough until it is a large rectangle, approximately 1/4 inch thick. It can be transferred onto the prepared baking sheet for easier stretching and pulling toward the end.
- Spread the second tablespoon of olive oil over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle with 1/2 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning blend. Thaw the spinach in the microwave (about one minute on high), then squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Chop the artichoke hearts into bite-sized pieces.
- Top the flatbread with the caramelized onions, spinach, chopped artichoke hearts, and crumbled feta. Bake for 18-20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Slice into 8-12 pieces and serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Caramelized Onion and Artichoke Flatbread – Step by Step Photos
The dough will need to be started the night before, so that it has at least 12 hours to ferment. In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp instant yeast. Add water, starting with 3/4 cup until a wet, slightly sticky ball of dough forms. There should be no dry flour left in the bowl. If unsure, err on the side of “too wet” when making the dough. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. As it ferments, it will become light and fluffy (and still sticky), like the photo above.
Caramelized onions take about an hour to make, but they are SO worth it. To make life easier, you can always make a large batch and freeze a portion of it, so they’re ready to use immediately next time. They can also be made in large batches using a slow cooker. Very convenient! To make them on the stove top, thinly slice three onions and add them to a skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and deep golden brown.
Just like this. This process is slow and MUST be done over low heat, or you risk burning or drying out the onions. But my, oh my, are they tasty!
When you’re ready to start building the pizza, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil, then spread 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over the surface of the foil.
Sprinkle a little flour over the sticky dough in the bowl, and scrape it out onto a clean surface. Press the dough down into a disc, then start stretching it into a rectangle. You’ll likely need to sprinkle with flour as you go because the dough will be very sticky and soft. Before it gets too big, you can transfer it to the baking sheet to finish stretch and pulling it into shape. Once it’s stretched into a large rectangle, spread 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over the surface, then sprinkle with 1/2 Tbsp of Italian seasoning blend.
Thaw 1/4 lb of frozen spinach using the microwave (estimate 1/4 of a one pound bag), then squeeze as much excess moisture out as possible. I just squeeze it in my fist until it’s mostly dry. Drain a 15oz. can of artichoke hearts, and then chop half of them into bite-sized pieces. The leftovers can be frozen for use on your next pizza (or flatbread)! Top the flatbread with the spinach, artichoke hearts, caramelized onions, and 2oz. of crumbled feta cheese (just cut an 8oz. block into quarters to estimate 2oz.).
Bake the caramelized onion and artichoke flatbread in the preheated 425 degree oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Cut the flatbread into 8-12 pieces and serve. This flatbread made about 2-4 servings, depending on the size. For me, it was just enough for 3 filling-but-not-over-full sized servings. :)
I can’t get enough of the sweet onion, salty feta, and briny artichoke hearts. Be still, my pizza loving heart!
First of all…all of the recipes on this site are amazing. Most of the recipes I use come from here. THANKS BETH! YOU’RE A KITCHEN GODDESS!!!! Just put this flatbread in the oven and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Might be late to work so I can eat it :D
Good stuff, made it tonight. I wish I personally liked feta cheese more.
Amazing dough! It’s so simple but somehow so moist and incredibly delicious. I actually think this could comfortably make 4 servings because it’ll fill you up really fast.
Why do you use foil vs a pizza peel onto a baking stone or just on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet?
I don’t have a pizza peel or a baking stone. :) I like to use foil on my baking sheets to make them easier to clean and help prevent sticking.
Yowww, Im about to pop this into my oven.
I still have a handful of dough left. Can I keep it in my fridge for a few days, or should i freeze it?
It will stay good in the refrigerator for about a day, or you can freeze it for up to a couple of months.
Noice, turned out real good, making my second batch now!
So I saw this and I wanted it, but I wanted it NOW and I didn’t want to go to the store. So I jumped on your suggestion to use a tortilla for the crust, and then decided to just make it into quesadillas. Mixing all the topping in a bowl, I added a can of tomatoes (drained) to bulk it up, and mozzarella to make it stick.
THEY TURNED OUT AMAZING. I ate one immediately and made up the rest to freeze for lunches. Your recipes and your fondness for quesadillas guide me.
Yum–how very easy. I did it exactly as described, but tossed on just a couple of chopped Kalamata olives. A largish green salad and a glass of wine made this a wonderful meal.
Could one make several batches of this crust dough and freeze it? At what point would you freeze it? Before it ferments or after? Then, just thaw in the fridge?
Thanks.
Can I sub regular yeast? I don’t use rapid rise.
You need to use either bread machine or instant yeast for this recipe because those two varieties don’t require proofing in warm water to activate. You can add them to the recipe dry and they’ll still work. Regular yeast doesn’t, unfortunatly.
There are so many different labels for yeast that I’m not sure what “regular” refers to, but I wanted to chime in that I made this with active dry yeast and it worked just fine. Since you add water to the dough anyway, I just mixed up my active dry yeast (1/4 tsp + another third of 1/4 tsp) in 1/4 cup of warm water and let it sit while I mixed the flour and salt. Then, I added the other 1/2 cup of water to the water/yeast mixture and added all the liquid to the flour and salt. The next morning I had fluffy dough, and it rose in the over just as expected. So, if you can’t find instant or rapid rise yeast, active dry will also do the trick. :)
That’s a great fix for using active dry instead of instant! I’ll have to suggest it to those who don’t have instant yeast.
This looks amazing.
A small cheat I use: Adding a small pinch of baking soda to your onions caramelizes them in just a few minutes, and they come out great.
I like to make caramelized onions ahead of time and freeze them. Anyone making this should try it!
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-caramelize-onions-in-the-slow-cooker-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193413
Yummy!
This sounds really tasty. Every time you make something like this I wonder; how do you save and reheat the extra servings? Are they still pretty good that way?
I just keep them in the fridge in a resealable container and reheat either using the microwave or in a skillet with a lid over low heat (the skillet method makes the bottom nice and crispy while the lid holds in the heat and warms the top).
Yum! This sounds like an awesome combo. :)
This is basically German ‘Flammkuchen’, you’d just need to use sour cream instead of the feta.
I also really appreciate that you acknowledge that caramelized onion does in fact take one hour to cook. So many blogs ask you to caramelize onion by “sautéing it for 5 minutes”. Seriously.