FLATBREAD WITH SAUSAGE, BELL PEPPERS, AND ASIAGO

Flatbread with Sausage, Bell Peppers, and Asiago image

Provided by Michael Lomonaco

Yield Makes 2 or 3 flatbreads, depending on thickness

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

All-purpose flour, for dusting a work surface
Pizza and flatbread dough
Cornmeal
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved
1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed, meat crumbled into nut-size nuggets
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into thin strips

Steps:

1. Set a pizza stone on the center rack. Preheat oven to 450°F, or higher if possible.
2. Sprinkle some flour on the work surface.
3. Divide the dough into halves or thirds, depending on how thin or thick you like your flatbread. Work the dough, rolling it into a ball, then flattening it into a circle with the palm of your hand. Press with your fingertips from the center outward, widening the circle. Start pushing this small circle into an oblong or rectangular shape, always leveling the thickness of the dough, so that the dough is about 14 by 6 inches.
4. Sprinkle some cornmeal on a pizza peel or the underside of a cookie sheet. Pick up the dough and, in one deft movement, transfer it to the peel.
5. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the surface of the flatbread. Sprinkle half (or one third if making three flatbreads) of the Asiago evenly over the dough and then scatter one half or one third (if making three flatbreads) of the sausage and pepper over the surface.
6. Pick up the peel and open the oven door. Gently slide the flatbread onto the stone; a few shakes of the peel and the dough should slide right off, thanks to the cornmeal.
7. Bake the flatbread until the surface is bubbling and the bottom of the crust is turning a dark, golden color and crisping nicely, 15 minutes or less. Use the peel to remove the flatbread from the oven, cut into slices, and serve. While the first flatbread is baking, ready the next one. Bake it as you enjoy the first one. Repeat until you've used all the dough and other ingredients.