Torta al testo

The ‘Torta al testo’ is a specialty from Umbria, especially in the area around Perugia. It is a kind of flatbread cooked on a cast-iron plate called “testo”, similar to the Romagnola piadina, but with its unique characteristics. Let’s see how to prepare it together.

Ingredients

• 500 g of flour (better if half soft wheat and half durum wheat)
• 300 ml of lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda (or 10 g of fresh brewer’s yeast if you prefer a leavened version)

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, pour the flour and add the salt and baking soda (or the dissolved brewer’s yeast in a bit of lukewarm water, if using yeast).
2. Then add the lukewarm water little by little, starting to knead with your hands or with a fork until the dough is homogeneous and fairly soft.
3. Work the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.
4. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for at least 30 minutes (if you have used yeast, let it rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours).
5. Divide the dough into balls (the size of a small orange) and roll out each one with a rolling pin, giving it a round shape and maintaining a thickness of about 2-3 mm.
6. Heat the ‘testo’ (or a non-stick pan if you do not have the ‘testo’) over medium heat and once hot, cook each dough disc for about 2-3 minutes per side until bubbles appear and the surface becomes golden.
7. Serve the ‘Torta al testo’ warm, alone or filled as you prefer with typical ingredients such as ham, cheese, arugula, or anything else you like.

Curiosity

The ‘Torta al testo’ gets its name from the cast-iron plate “testo” on which it is traditionally cooked. Today many use a common non-stick pan, but in Umbria, it is still possible to find those who cook it on the original ‘testo’, which gives that unmistakable taste to the preparation. In the past, it was a “poor” bread, baked without yeast and used as a substitute for daily bread.