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Za’atar Pizzette
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Za’atar Pizzette

A bit like pizza, a bit like Lebanese man’oushe—whatever you call them, these crisp little whole-wheat flatbreads make tasty snacks or a light meal.
Prep Time4 hours
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time4 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dinner
Keyword: italian pizza, pizza
Servings: 9 6-inch pizzettes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups warm spring water, plus more if needed
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 5 cups white whole-wheat flour, plus more if needed
  • 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten for a chewier pizzette (optional)
  • 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • Several good grinds of black pepper
  • 1/3 cup za'atar spice blend
  • 1/2 cup nonpareil capers
  • 1/2 cup Lebanese green or brown olives, pitted and halved

Instructions

  • Add the warm spring water to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and wait 5 minutes before stirring. Mix in the flour and vital wheat gluten, if using. With your hand, knead the dough in the bowl for about 8 minutes. It should be moist but not overly sticky. Adjust with additional flour or water as needed.
  • Cover the bowl, place in a draft-free, warm corner, and allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours. Pull up a corner of the dough and stretch it over the rest. Rotate the bowl, and stretch and fold it three more times. If the dough is very sticky, fold in a little more flour. Cover and allow the dough to rise again for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes, or until they have softened and crisped up on their edges.
  • Heat a skillet over medium heat for 4 minutes. Dry sauté the onions for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the they soften and caramelize. If they begin to adhere to the pan, deglaze the pan with a few tablespoons of water, and scrape up the sugars that have adhered to the pan.
  • An hour before baking, insert a large pizza stone on the center oven rack and preheat the oven to 550°F.
  • Divide the dough into 9 balls. Flour a cutting board or countertop. Keeping the other balls well covered, press or roll one of the balls into a 6-inch disk, flattening the center very thinly and leaving the perimeter slightly higher. Cover with plastic and proceed to roll out the remaining balls of dough, allowing time for each pizzette to puff up slightly before you move to the next step, 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Decorate as you like with the tomatoes and onions. Season with pepper and a good pinch of za’atar. If your baking stone is large, you can bake several at once, adding them as space frees up. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the crust is lightly blistered and firm underneath. Transfer to a cooling rack, sprinkle on some capers and olives, and serve warm.

Notes

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Love the Foods that Love You Back © 2022 by Cathy Katin-Grazzini. Rizzoli New York. Photography © Giordano Katin-Grazzini.