WINE & FOOD AFFAIR RECIPES

Main Dish


"Caramelized, Spiced & Savored" Wood-Fired Flatbread

ACTA Wines

7505 Highway 128
Healdsburg, CA 95448
actawine.com

The perfect pairing for a glass of anything. This recipe originates from a desire to highlight items from our olive orchard and garden, along with those of our neighbors. We often switch the sausage to explore a greater number of products from or local makers, but it's typically a version of spicy italian that works best. We serve this, along with others at the ACTA Estate vineyard view kitchen.

Homemade Dough for Four Large Flatbreads

Ingredients:
  • 3 cup "00" Flour
  • 2 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
  • 4 grams Active Dry Yeast
  • 2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together 200 grams (a little less than 1 cup) lukewarm tap water, the yeast and the olive oil, then pour it into flour mixture. Knead with your hands until well combined, approximately 3 minutes, then let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.

Knead rested dough for 3 minutes. Cut into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place on a heavily floured surface, cover with dampened cloth, and let rest and rise for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature or for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (If you refrigerate the dough, remove it 30 to 45 minutes before you begin to shape it for flatbread in order to proof)

To make flatbread, place each dough ball on a heavily floured surface and use your fingers to stretch it, then your hands to shape it into squares. Top and bake.

Italian Sausage & Caramelized Onion Flatbread

Ingredients:
  • 1 whole medium Red Onion Thinly Sliced (long)
  • 1 whole medium Yellow Onion Thinly Sliced (long)
  • 1 pound Italian Sausage Crumbled
  • 8 ounces Shreded Mozzarella Shredded
  • To Taste Olive Oil
  • To Taste Salted Butter
  • 8 ounces Ricotta Cheese
  • 6 ounces Mixed Wild Mushrooms Optional
  • 1 bottle Hot Honey Optional
Directions:
Sauté to caramelize red and yellow thinly sliced onions in olive oil, butter and pinch of salt until browned. Set aside.

Crumble spicy Italian sausage...we prefer a good local sausage in casing rather than packaged as ground, then remove casing, and tear/crumble in irregular, rustic chunks, small to medium. Brown in a pan with olive oil. Transfer to paper towels after cooking. Set aside for immediate use or store if needed.

Toss and/or roll out dough to desired thickness (we think thinner is better). "Dock" the dough with a spiked roller or fork. Brush lightly with olive oil. Pro-Tip....before the next step  it's helpful to place the read-to-use crust on a pizza peel with a good dusting of cornmeal to promote easy slipping into the oven.

Assemble flatbread; layer with mozzarella, browned sausage, caramelized onions, and healthy dollops of ricotta cheese.

Bake in wood-fire oven. Some notes on this...we use a nice 50/50 split of oak and almond hardwood and heat the over to at least 750 degrees, but can work with up to 900 degrees. Part of the fun is experimenting with different woods and temps. You can absolutely do this with a pizza box on your grill, on the grill itself, and certainly in a regular oven. Simply remove when the edges of the dough are browning and mozzarella bubbles. In the high-temp wood-fire oven, we like a bit of carbonization on the crust too!

Remove and cool for a minute or two. Slice and serve with a glass of ACTA!

Bonus versions; sometimes we add a mix of wild-mushrooms. Wash and sauté to soften them, then add when building the flatbread. Lastly,....adding a drizzle of hot honey is never a bad thing.

ACTA Wines

7505 Highway 128
Healdsburg, CA 95448
actawine.com