This apple chevre flatbread is the epitome of the kind of food I love to eat. For me, a perfect meal is satiating, but light. It looks a bit fancy, but never at the expense of great taste.
Apple Chevre Flatbread
It seems that a lot of the more modern restaurants these days tend to sacrifice taste for presentation. I recently went to a well-known restaurant near my home, trying to give their lunch menu another try.
This restaurant specializes in the kind of plates that are meant to be shared (tapas, if you will) and are made with simple, quality ingredients. In theory, their menu is everything I idealize and try to emulate in my own kitchen. But in reality, the only items I actually enjoy on their menu are their bakery items.
When it comes to their savory dishes, the taste is just completely off. For example, you’ll see a dish with ham, gruyere, and leeks, and think, why, yes, this is a French combination that tastes fabulous! But when you actually taste it, there’s some odd spread they’ve put on top of the ham, or the leeks have a citrus-y quality that just doesn’t tie in well with the rest of the dish.
Simply put, the dishes always taste off. It’s a shame because the restaurant’s baked goods are fantastic, so now I’m limited to just going there for a morning croissant or scone.
But that’s why it’s so fun to be able to cook and bake in our own kitchens; we’re able to create the meals that we crave, and ensure that they taste as good as we fantasize them to be.
This apple chevre flatbread is so good, it goes beyond what I ever dreamt it could be. It looks pretty, but it’s truly uncomplicated. Instead, this flatbread relies on quality, seasonal ingredients that not only seem like they’ll taste good together, but honestly, really do taste good together.
Apples this time of the year are conventionally thrown into desserts like apple spice cake or apple pie, but as some of my talented blogging friends like Cheyanne, from No Spoon Necessary, have beautifully proven, apples can be a wonderful component in a savory dish. Just as sweet and salty is America’s favorite dessert combination, the same can be true in savory dishes.
The apples pair wonderfully with the caramelized onions, since the onions have just that slightest bit of sweetness to them. The chevre, or goat cheese, does a wonderful job of maintaining its creaminess as it bakes, rather than melting and losing its composition.
More importantly, chevre tends to be robust in flavor, bold enough to be noticed on the palate, but not so bold as to only appeal to a limited number of palates like, say, blue cheese. Chevre tends to have a slightly earthy taste which is only amplified in this meal with the addition of thyme leaves.
I bake the entire flatbread on a pizza stone, which gives the bread that extra bit of crispiness and crunch. I also toss spiced pumpkin seeds (pepitas) onto the apple chevre flatbread once it’s done baking to provide another layer of crunch. When you taste that crisp texture in your mouth from the bread and pumpkins seeds, and then immediately feel the accompanying creamy chevre melting on your tongue, it’s absolute magic.
I don’t need any fancy pants restaurant fulfilling my culinary dreams; this apple chevre flatbread does that and so much more.
Apple Chevre Flatbread
A delicious fall flatbread made with apples, goat cheese, caramelized onions and pumpkin seeds.
Ingredients
for the dough
- 2/3 c of all-purpose flour plus more for dusting hands and work surface
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tbsp olive oil plus more to grease bowl with
- 1/4 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/3 c warm water 105°F to 110°F
for the toppings
- 1/2 an onion sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- pinch of sugar
- 2 oz goat cheese crumbled
- 1/2 a medium to large apple thinly sliced
- 2 sprigs of thyme leaves
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp pepitas pumpkin seeds
Instructions
-
Start off by creating your dough. In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the honey in the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add the honey water to your flour mixture, following with the olive oil. Stir together until you create a smooth, sticky dough.
-
Grease a medium bowl with a little bit of olive oil before transferring the dough into this bowl. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place (like a turned off oven) for 1 hour.
-
Meanwhile, create your caramelized onions. Sauté the sliced onions in the vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Once translucent, add the pinch of sugar and stir to combine. Continue cooking the onions until they’ve obtained a golden color. Turn off the heat and set aside.
-
Once your dough has risen, preheat the oven to 425°F.
-
Lightly flour your hands and lift the dough out of the bowl and onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Use your hands to spread the dough out into a rectangular shape, dusting your hands with flour as needed; the dough will be sticky, this is OK.
-
Top the dough with the crumbled goat cheese, caramelized onions, and apple slices. Gently lift the parchment paper with the dough and transfer to a baking sheet.
-
Bake the flatbread for approximately 20 minutes, or until the edges of the bread are slightly golden. Once your flatbread has finished baking, top with the thyme leaves and pepitas.
Kristina says
I love this! I often make a similar one just with pears and some extra blue cheese.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Ohh that sounds lovely, Kristina! Mmm <3
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Awwww, peanut!! Thanks SO much for the shout out!! 🙂 I’m honored and touched! (insert blushing here)
Now lets talk food business. I totally hear you on the whole restaurant debacle!! Why is it that so many restaurants who are supposed to be "well known" disappoint? Its a shame. But, you are right, it is a good thing we have our own kitchens (otherwise we might starve… or worse, want to rip off our taste buds so we couldn’t tell if food tasted terrible)!! I LOVE flatbreads… like, I actually love them more than pizzas. (<– shhh don’t tell). This flatbread is absolutely gorgeous, Beeta! And I love love LOVE the flavor combination you used! Simple, but sophisticated and delicious! I love chevre cheese and I can almost taste how scrumptious this pizza is paired with the caramelized onions and apples! Totally making this over the weekend! Pinned! Cheers, doll! XOXO
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
I know everyone has different tastes, but some restaurants just think we’re stupid and will fall for their food just because of their name or whatnot. Not this lady! Also, I love flatbreads more than pizza too! As simple as pizza seems to be, it often isn’t as fabulous as it should be. Flatbreads are generally more successful. Thanks so much for your sweet comment love <3
Hannah | The Swirling Spoon says
Mmmm. Can I eat this for breakfast… right now? please??? I think apples and those caramelised onions would go so well together! And the flatbread looks so crusty on the bottom and chewy on the inside.
I hear you on the restaurant thing! I also feel like the more I pay, the higher my expectations are and if something is a bit "off" tasting then I leave super disappointed!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Hey, I have totally eaten pizza for breakfast before so I don’t see why this flatbread can’t be eaten for breakfast either! :p The pizza stone really helps get that super crisp bottom, which is awesome. I think you’d love this Hannah! Thanks so much for leaving kind words <3
Amanda Kohr says
Oh my lanta, this is the perfect fall treat! It’s like fancy pizza!! I would enjoy it with a pumpkin beer. 🙂
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Oh yum!! I’ve never had pumpkin beer, but it sounds wonderful! Thanks Amanda!!
Claudia | The Brick Kitchen says
Beeta you have completely outdone yourself! Everything about this is epic: firstly the flatbread itself, because homemade yeasted bread is just about my favourite thing ever (could never ever be gluten free!!), caramelised onions and apple sound SO good together, love the sound of toasted pumpkin seeds too, and chèvre?! Goats chèvre is the greatest cheese out there, in my mind – mild but tangy and creamy. So can hardly imagine what all of those components would be like together – guess I am going to have to make it to find out!! And with you on restaurant food – here in Melbourne we are pretty lucky that there is an extremely high standard, but the occasional time that you leave disappointed (and sure you could have done a better job yourself) is always a bit frustrating. Again, awesome recipe!! <3 <3
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
I could never be GF either, Claudia! Bread is my favorite thing in the world 🙂 And I adore goat cheese too – it’s so versatile and can be incorporated in so many dishes! Thanks so much for the kind words, deary! XO
Marissa says
It’s a shame when a restaurant that does one thing well disappoints when you look a little deeper. We have a restaurant in Bend that has wonderful happy hour food, but their dinner (which is expensive) is always lacking. So odd.
I do have a restaurant for you to try the next time you’re in Paris – Poulette. omg. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful on the inside (the tile!), it’s small and so is the menu, but everything about the experience was perfect.
Now about this gorgeous flatbread of yours. I love the fall flavors and the dance of savory and sweet. This seems like a must try while we’re here. xo
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
It’s SUCH a bummer when restaurants do that, Marissa. I wish they’d just focus on what they’re great at and stick to that. And I have Poulette written down thanks to you! I saw your post on FB – seems fantastic! Thanks so much for the reference and your sweet words! XO
Kelly says
This flatbread sounds fantastic, Beeta! I love that you used apple in a savory recipe. My mouth is watering over the chevre and caramelized onions! So simple and wonderfully elegant at the same time!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thank you, Kelly! The apple is such a nice compliment to the other savory notes in this dish – a nice balance, if you will. XO
Sam @ SugarSpunRun says
I absolutely love this flavor combination you have going on here, and you’re so right about the restaurants… too often I think something sounds wonderful and then the flavor is completely off!
I’m sure there is nothing off about this gorgeous and expertly made recipe though, Beeta! Can’t wait to try it out!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thanks, Sam!! Restaurants can be such a bummer, but good thing we like spending time in the kitchen! 😉
Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom says
Ok seriously, Beeta – this is ridiculously amazing! I love homemade flatbread by itself, but then you’ve added all of these incredible toppings and combination of flavors – they just hit every note perfectly.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Thanks so much Kathleen! I’m a sucker for flatbread too. I’m glad you like the combo of ingredients I’ve added here! 🙂
Louise | Cygnet Kitchen says
I love the look of your bread Beeta, but I have to confess, I cannot bear goat’s cheese! :-(( The beauty of this bread, is that I am sure some brie, camembert or even mozzarella, on top would be equally as good. x
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Hi Louise! Of course, you can switch out the cheese for anyone that you enjoy! 🙂 I know some people don’t like goat cheese, but like you said, you can achieve a similar effect with a creamy brie or whatnot. Thanks, love <3
Patricia says
Hello, I know I’m posting on this almost a year later, LOL just saw on an MSN advertisement. This looks fabulous! Was wondering if you have a preference as to what type of apples are best? Granny Smith, or Red Delicious, or Fuji, or ……
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Hi Patricia! Thanks so much for visiting and for your kind comment. 🙂 Any kind will work here, but I usually have Gala apples on hand, so that’s what I’ve used here. This is one of my favorites, so I hope you enjoy!