So, there’s this restaurant on Newbury Street called Bouchee. And there’s nothing better than sitting on Bouchee’s patio in the summertime, sipping a drink and people-watching. Oh, and eating some of their delicious French food. But I’ve always had a special place in my heart for their flatbreads, especially the sausage, grape, and gorgonzola flatbread. And when I brought Chris to Bouchee last summer, he fell in love with it too.
It’s not summertime right tnow. And though we could easily go to Bouchee and sit inside and order flatbread and wine, sometimes it’s tough to leave the house. Especially on a cold Friday night when I’ve been working all week and just want to relax with a movie. Or some Olympics. So, I decided to attempt to recreate the flatbread and? It was probably one of the easiest things I’ve made!
If you think making crust is hard, you’re totally wrong. Especially a simple flatbread crust. So easy and it only takes 2 hours to rise! I was searching for a recipe and used one that I found from Steamy Kitchen. She got it from the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by the lovely Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois who we got to meet at Foodbuzz Fest! The recipe makes 4 loaves… I cut it in half, but wish I just made the whole recipe to save the dough for later. So, I’m giving you the whole thing. Just make it.
No Knead Pizza Dough:
- 2 3/4 C lukewarm water
- 1 1/2 T granulated yeast (I used rapid rise)
- 1 1/2 T salt
- 1 T sugar
- 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
- 6 1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5 qt. bowl.
Mix in the flour without kneading, with a wooden spoon.
Then cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours and use i however you like! Or you can refrigerate and use over the next 12 days. And trust me, you can use it all in 12 days.
Now, of course, you can do whatever you want with the dough and use whatever toppings you want on your pizza. But I’m highly recommending the following 
Sausage, grape, and gorgonzola flatbread:
- 1 1/2 T olive oil
- 3 links sausage (whatever kind you like, I used sweet Italian turkey)
- 1/2 C grapes, halved
- 3/4 C gorgonzola cheese
- 1/2 onion, sliced
Before you start, you should preheat your oven to 500, or however high it goes and put the baking sheet you’ll use in the oven. Then roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface. You can do it by hand or with a rolling pin or rolling pin-like object. Generally a flatbread would be a long, oval shape. But I was baking it on a round pan, so made mine round instead.
Prepare all your toppings. I took the sausages out of their casings and cooked them over medium-high heat until they were cooked through.
I also caramelized my half onion and cut the grapes in half.
Now, remove your baking sheet from the oven and work as quickly as you can. Put the rolled-out flatbread on the pan.
Drizzle the olive oil over the top of the dough. Spread it around using a pastry brush or your fingers if you choose. Now put the toppings on! I put on the grapes, then added the sausage, sprinkled the gorgonzola on, and put the caramelized onions on top.
It already looked good enough to eat. Except for the raw crust I suppose.
Put the flatbread in the oven for about 7-10 minutes, but keep your eye on it to make sure it’s browning nicely, but not toooo nicely (this is a good place to note that it’s always a bad idea to keep opening your oven when your baking something. Heat escapes very quickly, so use your oven’s light and peek through the window!).
Now, slice up the flatbread however you like. And obviously dig in.
This flatbread really was EXACTLY what I was hoping for. And if I do say, it was pretty darn close to what we get at Bouchee. I am absolutely in love with the sweetness of the grapes and the sharpness of the cheese combination.
When I closed my eyes, I could almost picture myself on Bouchee’s patio with a glass of sangria and the sun shining down on me. But, no, I was actually sitting on the couch with a glass of red wine and ice dancing on TV. But to be fair, the weather here in Boston did make it to the 40s this weekend, so there was no complaining here. But the bottom line is, I will definitely be making this flatbread again, probably sooner than later. Uhh, is tomorrow too soon?
Also, I need to say a big hiiiiii to our reader who I ran into at Ikea this weekend (I asked your name and then promptly forgot it as I have the worst memory in the world, especially with names ). As I was hanging out in the desk section I heard, “It’s We are not Martha!” and I turned around and there she was. How funny I kind of felt a little bit like a celebrity or something! Anyway, it was great running into you!
[Sues]
