Info
- Active prep: 45 minutes
- Oven time: 35 minutes
- From start to finish: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 small flatbread pizzas
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (100 to 115 degrees F, checked with a candy thermometer; hotter liquid will kill the yeast, while cooler liquid won't activate it)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the board
- 1/4 cup cornmeal, for the pizza stones
Toppings that go into the oven
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 pounds halibut fillets
- Salt and pepper
- 6 medium potatoes (roughly 2 1/2 to 3 pounds), peeled, boiled, drained thoroughly, and mashed together with the fish
Toppings added once the flatbreads come out
- 6 ounces smoked Norwegian salmon, flaked
- 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 medium red onion, sliced paper-thin on a mandoline
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
Instructions
- Stir the salt, sugar, and yeast into the warm water and let the yeast proof. Proofing simply tests whether the yeast is alive: it should build up a foam resembling the head on a glass of beer. If no foam appears, the yeast is dead and should be thrown out. This step takes roughly 15 minutes. Put the flour in a food processor fitted with a dough blade, switch the machine on, and pour the proofed yeast liquid slowly through the feed tube until a cohesive dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it for about 5 minutes. Put it in a bowl, drape a clean dish towel over the top, and let it rise until it has roughly doubled in size, which takes about 30 minutes to an hour. To check whether it has risen enough, press a finger into the dough; if the indentation stays, it's ready. Deflate the dough, cut it into 6 equal balls, cover them with the towel, and let them rise a second time. A second rise gives the dough a finer texture, though the balls won't expand as much as they did the first time.
- Start the topping while the dough rises. Warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat, then cook the garlic and onions until the onion starts turning translucent. Season the halibut with salt and pepper and sear it on each side, leaving each side untouched for the first minute so the flavors can settle into the surface of the fish. Keep cooking until the fish flakes apart, about another 6 to 8 minutes, then set it aside to rest. Flake the fish and fold it into the mashed potatoes.
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. On a floured surface, pull the dough into six ovals measuring about 6 by 8 inches, and dust cornmeal over both sides. (Each crust gets partially cooked on both sides on the stovetop before the baked toppings go on.) In a heavy 12-inch skillet with a lid, heat a little oil over medium heat, swirling it so the entire interior is coated. Lay each dough oval in the skillet and let one side cook briefly and firm up before turning it with tongs. Once both sides of every oval have been par-baked this way, move them to a pizza stone. Spoon the potato and fish mixture into the middle of each toasted crust and spread it evenly across the surface. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the peaks of the mashed potatoes start to turn golden.
- Take the flatbreads from the oven and scatter the salmon, curry powder, red onions, and chives over the top.
