Universal Flatbread Dough.

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SERVES

TOTAL

1920m

ACTIVE

40m

LVL

MEDIUM

./images/flatbread-dough/POSTER.SVG INTERNATIONAL

// SUMMARY

One 71%-hydration dough that covers everything flat and blistered: hand-stretched flatbreads, pizza, grilled bread, pita. A long cold ferment does the flavour work, so the active time is under 40 minutes spread over two days. Version A uses a sourdough starter for depth; Version B needs nothing but instant yeast and gets there with a longer retard.

// INGREDIENTS

SRV :: 4

500	g	strong bread or pizza flour
330	g	water
50	g	active sourdough starter, 100% hydration
20	g	water (for the second addition)
3	g	instant yeast
10	g	fine sea salt
— Olive oil, for handling and the containers
525	g	strong bread or pizza flour
355	g	water
20	g	water (for the second addition)
4	g	instant yeast
10	g	fine sea salt
— Olive oil, for handling and the containers

// METHOD

01
Combine the flour with the first (larger) measure of water — 330 g for Version A, 355 g for Version B. Mix by hand or with a spoon only until **no dry flour remains**. It will be shaggy and ugly. That is correct.
02
Cover and rest **30–60 minutes** at room temperature. The flour hydrates and the gluten starts forming on its own, which is why almost no kneading is needed later.
03
Add the yeast and the remaining 20 g water. For Version A, add the 50 g starter at the same time.
04
Squeeze and fold the dough in the bowl until everything is fully incorporated and you can no longer see streaks of starter or pockets of water — about 2–3 minutes.
05
Add the 10 g salt.
06
Knead in the bowl or on an unfloured surface until the dough is **smooth, elastic and pulls cleanly off the surface** — 5–8 minutes by hand, 4–5 minutes on medium in a stand mixer.
07
Test it: stretch a corner thin enough to see light through it without tearing. If it tears, rest 10 minutes and work it briefly again.
08
Lightly oil a container, add the dough, cover.
09
Ferment at room temperature until the dough is **50–75% larger** — not doubled. At 22 °C this is roughly 2½–4 hours for Version A and 3–5 hours for Version B.
10
Judge by volume and feel, never by the clock. The dough should be domed, jiggly and full of small bubbles at the edges.
11
Tip the dough onto a lightly oiled surface and divide into **4 pieces of ~225 g** (see Notes for other formats).
12
Shape each into a **tight ball**: fold the edges into the centre, flip seam-side down, then drag the ball in circles under a cupped hand until the surface is taut. Surface tension now is what lets you stretch it thin later without tearing.
13
Place the balls in lightly oiled containers with a little space around each, and cover so they cannot dry out.
14
Refrigerate **24–48 hours** for Version A, **48–72 hours** for Version B. The extra time is what replaces the starter's acidity and aroma.
15
Take the dough out **about 2 hours before baking** — up to 3 hours if the kitchen is cold. Cold dough will not stretch and will not blister properly.
16
Leave the balls covered until you are ready to shape them.
17
**Never roll the dough.** A rolling pin crushes exactly the gas you spent two days building. Flour the ball, press outwards from the centre with your fingertips leaving the outer 1–2 cm untouched, then lift and stretch over your knuckles or let gravity pull it down.
18
Bake as hot as your setup allows:
19
You are looking for **charred blisters, not even colour**. Dark leopard spotting is the goal; a uniformly golden flatbread was baked too cool.

// NOTES

— Baker's percentages — scale to any batch: flour 100%, water 71%, salt 1.9%, instant yeast 0.5–0.75%, starter 10% (Version A only). Percentages are of total flour, which includes the flour inside the starter.
— Dough weight per piece: 225 g for a 25–28 cm flatbread, 250–280 g for a 30 cm round pizza, 120 g for pita or small skillet breads. Total dough needed = piece weight × number of pieces.
— Flour: any flour at 12%+ protein works — strong white bread flour, Italian type 0 or 00 for pizza, or Canadian/Manitoba. Below that the dough will not hold the long ferment. Swapping 10–20% for semolina or wholemeal adds flavour and bite; add 10–15 g extra water if you do.
— Same-day version: skip the fridge. Bulk 4–5 hours, divide, ball, proof 1 hour, bake. Noticeably less flavour, still very good.
— Freezing: freeze the balled dough after 24 hours in the fridge, in individual oiled bags. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then temper 2 hours as usual.
— Storage: baked flatbreads keep a day wrapped in a tea towel. Revive for 30 seconds in a dry hot pan, not the microwave.
— Timing: the honest schedule is dough on day one, bake on day three. Day two is entirely passive.

// VARIATIONS

→ Poolish route (no starter, maximum flavour): the night before, mix 100 g flour + 100 g water + 0.2 g instant yeast and leave 12–16 hours at room temperature until domed and bubbly. Use it in Version B in place of the starter, reducing the main flour to 425 g and the first water to 255 g. This buys most of the sourdough character without keeping a starter alive.
→ Pizza: ball at 250–280 g, top sparingly, bake at the highest heat available. The same dough, stretched thinner.
→ Garlic flatbread: brush the hot bread with melted butter, crushed garlic, parsley and flaky salt the moment it leaves the heat.
→ Za'atar or dukkah: oil the stretched dough, scatter the spice, bake. The oil stops the spices scorching.
→ Pita pockets: 120 g balls, stretched to 5 mm, onto a screaming-hot steel. They inflate in about 90 seconds and split into a pocket as they cool.
→ Focaccia-ish: press the dough into a well-oiled tray instead of dividing it, dimple, proof 1 hour, bake at 230 °C for 20–25 minutes.

// SOURCE

Straker's-style flatbread dough (London) — adapted and generalised

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