Grilled pizza + crispy flatbread
Originally modeled after a focaccia recipe, this versatile dough can be used for the traditional olive oil bread of Italy, for our grilled pizzas, or for the crispy flatbread that we serve at the bar. Depending upon how it is handled and cooked, this same basic dough can produce a remarkable variety of textures.

For the pizzas, we roll out small balls into flat rounds and grill them over a hot wood + charcoal fire. They puff up and blister slightly, get lightly charred in spots and crispy around the edges but remain pleasantly chewy.

For the flatbread, we roll the dough out very thin, brush it with some extra olive oil and sprinkle it with salt. Then we bake it on a large sheet pan in a convection oven at a relatively high heat with the fan on. This method results in a golden flatbread the Sicilians call “carta musica”, or sheet music, and each one is 18X30 inches.

Chef’s secret: we infuse the olive oil used in recipe with fresh rosemary and thyme from our rooftop herb garden, along with cracked fennel seed and black pepper. This produces an especially flavorful and fragrant bread whichever the selected use.

Here’s the recipe:

1/4C good quality olive oil
3T fresh rosemary and thyme leaves, lightly chopped
1T cracked fennel seeds
2t cracked black pepper

1 1/2C warm water (100F)
1T white sugar
1T dry yeast

@4C all-purpose flour
1T kosher salt

In a small saute pan, gently warm the olive oil with the herbs and pepper (@120F). Remove from the heat and let cool slightly before using.

Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in the warm water in a big mixing bowl. Add the yeast and proof it until foamy (4-5 minutes). Add the flour and salt and the infused olive oil. Mix with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together well enough that you can remove it from the bowl. Place it on a lightly-floured work surface and knead for 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth and shiny. Note: Depending upon the conditions (dry weather, high humidity, etc), you may need to add another couple of small handfuls of flour to the dough to get it right.

At this point, you can proceed with making it into pizza dough, crispy flatbread or focaccia. Or, you can portion the dough and freeze it for later use.