Schiaciatta

The word 'schiacciatta' I first saw in a magazine which referred to broccoli pie made me wonder if it really means pie as stated , so I searched it on google and then found out that it's ,in fact, nothing to do with broccoli or pie !

Schiacciata means crushed, flattened or squashed in Italian, and is the name for flatbread in Tuscany. Both savory and sweet versions of schiacciata are found there. In general, savory schiaciatta is made using bread dough as the base, much like the pizza and focaccia in other regions of Italy. The addition of olive oil and sugar to the bread dough results in a sweet schiacciata. When egg(s) is/are added, the schiacciata becomes more like a rustic pastry.

There are few differents recipes of schiaciatta that I've found on the net..the one I chose to give a try is from here which I felt comfortable with..

The recipe (adpated)

Ingredients

250 g bread flour (Caputo flour works great)
150 ml water
1 scant tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tsp instant yeast
additional a few tbsps of olive oil
coarse sea salt to sprinkle
chopped rosemary leaves to sprinkle

Mix the flour and water until fully blended, then let the dough rest for 30 minutes. That gives the flour time to fully absorb the water. Then add the salt,sugar, olive oil and yeast, and mix on low for another 8-10 minutes until elastic.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until double. Punch it down and push out the air bubbles. Form the dough into a large ball and let it rest for a couple of minutes before shaping it into a rectangular shape, roughly 1/4" thick. Cover the dough and let it rise for another 20-30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 500ºF

Right before you put the bread in the oven, make impressions with your fingers tips -- as you would with a Focaccia, drizzle on 1-2 Tbps of olive oil and sprinkle rosemary and sea salt over the top.Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Brush another of oil on the hot baked bread and let it rest for a minute before serving.
























PS. I've submitted this post to yeastspotting hosted by Susan of wildyeast