Rye Flatbreads With Prosciutto And Raspberry Recipe

Flatbreads are the world's oldest breads and have evolved from humble beginnings of roughly ground grains, tubers, and legumes into sophisticated offerings of every imaginable flavor. Flatbreads may be leavened or unleavened and range from paper-thin to puffy. These breads offer ways to experiment with different baking techniques, whether by working with a wide variety of flours or getting deliciously creative with toppings and accompaniments. This recipe for rye flatbreads with prosciutto and raspberry — courtesy of recipe developer Julie Kinnaird – produces a thin and robust-flavored crust topped with a range of nutty, salty, sweet, and herbaceous toppings. 

This recipe is baked much like a pizza by rolling or stretching the dough into thin rounds. If you have access to a pizza oven or a pizza stone to place in a conventional oven, this will give you an ultra-crisp crust that puffs up lightly as it bakes. A good substitute for a stone is to preheat a baking sheet in your oven, then sprinkle on a little cornmeal to prevent sticking. Alternatively, using a large cast iron pan can be a great hack to try. Either of these tools will help to mimic the effect of the hot stone and prevent a doughy texture. These flatbreads bake up in 10 minutes and are finished with a piquant raspberry glaze made with red wine vinegar and honey. These flatbreads will dazzle as a happy hour appetizer, brunch fare, or light meal!

For the flatbread crust, you will need a blend of all-purpose and medium rye flour. The dough is leavened with active dry yeast that's given a boost from granulated sugar it proofing in warm water. Salt adds flavor, and olive oil is used in both the dough and for brushing on before baking. Goat gouda is a nutty, mellow, medium-soft cheese with a nice, melting texture. This blends with the salty and thin prosciutto and sweet shallots. The flatbreads are finished with fresh raspberries and mint, as well as a tangy glaze made from raspberry preserves, red wine vinegar, and honey. Be sure to use seedless preserves to achieve a smooth texture in the glaze. A generous grind of black pepper finishes off these flatbreads with a kick. You will also need a bit of cornmeal for sprinkling on your pizza stone or pan.

Add the warm water to a small bowl and stir in the sugar to dissolve.

Sprinkle in the yeast and stir to combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes, or until foamy.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 3 cups all-purpose flour, rye flour, and salt.

Add the yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Attach the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, mix the dough by hand with a wooden spoon.

Sprinkle a clean surface with 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, turn out the dough, and knead until smooth, forming it into a ball.

Grease the stand mixer bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the dough, turning it to coat.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and put in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine the raspberry preserves, red wine vinegar, and honey in a small saucepan.

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes, until thickened and syrupy. Keep warm.

Once the dough has risen, preheat a pizza oven (with a pizza stone inside) to 450 F. (You can also use a conventional oven, with a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet placed inside, instead.)

Punch down the dough to deflate.

Transfer the dough to a clean surface sprinkled with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour, and divide into 4 equal pieces.

Shape each piece into a ball and cover with a damp towel.

Use your hands or a rolling pin to stretch one of the balls into a flat, 12-inch circle.

Sprinkle a pizza peel with a little bit of the cornmeal (to prevent sticking) and lay the dough circle on top.

Brush with some of the remaining olive oil.

Add a thin layer of shaved gouda.

Arrange a layer of torn prosciutto.

Sprinkle with sliced shallots.

Finish with a little freshly cracked black pepper.

Transfer the flatbread to the preheated pizza stone in the oven.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden and the cheese has melted.

Immediately after removing the flatbread from the oven, top it with some of the raspberries and mint.

Add a drizzle of raspberry glaze.

Repeat the process with the remaining dough and toppings. Baked flatbreads can be re-warmed in the oven for a couple of minutes before serving.

Slice the flatbreads, and serve.

With the popularity of flatbreads on the rise, it often seems hard to differentiate between a pizza and flatbread on a restaurant menu, especially when they both come loaded with toppings. Kinnaird believes that pizza falls under the wider category of "flatbreads," specifically because it is made from a thin dough and baked with a variety of toppings. Yet, she also appreciates that pizza is deeply rooted in Italian cultural traditions, featuring a yeasted dough, sauce, and cheese. Flatbreads that share these same characteristics often go in daring directions with ingredients and flavor combinations that are atypical for pizza. Flatbreads may showcase a few toppings or artisanal ingredients and show more restraint on sauce and cheese. Sweet flavors like the raspberries and glaze used in this recipe, as well as the crispy crust made from rye, show the nuances of taste and texture that flatbreads can offer. 

If you have never worked with rye flour before, there are a few things to understand before rolling up your sleeves. First, there are several different varieties of rye flour, ranging from light to medium to dark. Light rye is milled from the center or endosperm of the rye berry but doesn't include the fiber-rich bran that forms the berry's outer skin, hence its lighter color. Medium and dark rye are also milled from the endosperm but contain more of the outer bran, with dark rye containing the most. Rye's high fiber and protein content yield a hearty flavor, as well as a more dense texture that can be trickier to work with than all-purpose doughs. Rye flour breads tend to get a bit less rise, so using rye in flatbreads or other baked goods like cookies and pie crusts is a good way to get flavor without the expectation for a soft, puffy texture. Rye flour also absorbs more liquid, so it's necessary to increase the amount of water or other liquids in a recipe if you're substituting regular flour with rye. Blending rye with all-purpose flour makes it easier to work with and will also lighten up the texture of your dough.