Tasty Flattened Breads (Schiacciatine sfiziose)

17/11/2023

Tasty flattened breads are a great idea for an appetizer or for a crispy and flavorful snack. Let’s take a look at a version that we can enhance with a truly Italian touch.

Ingredients

250 grams of flour
10 grams of fresh baker’s yeast
150 milliliters of lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of fine salt
30 milliliters of extra virgin olive oil
Chopped fresh rosemary to taste
Coarse salt to taste

Preparation

Start by dissolving the baker’s yeast in the lukewarm water with the sugar, and let it rest for a few minutes.
In a bowl, pour the flour and create a well in the center where you will pour in the dissolved yeast.
Add the olive oil and fine salt, and start to knead until you have a smooth, homogeneous dough.
Work the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.
Form a ball, place it in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1-2 hours or until it doubles in volume.
Take the dough, deflate it by hand, and divide it into small portions that you will flatten to form mini flattened breads.
Place the flattened breads on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with chopped rosemary and coarse salt, then let them rise again for about 30 minutes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C for about 15-20 minutes or until they become golden and crispy.
Remove the flattened breads from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.

To add an additional Italian touch, you can include in the ingredients some chopped olives or chopped sundried tomatoes that you will incorporate into the dough before the second rising.

Trivia

The flattened breads get their name from the term “schiacciare”, which in this context means to flatten the dough. They are a smaller and crunchier variant of the classic Tuscan flatbread, and are perfect to accompany cold cuts and cheeses, or simply enjoyed on their own. Their crispiness comes from the type of baking and the reduced thickness of the dough.