Focaccia ragusana
Flat bread, Sicily-style
zoom »
- 350 g (12 1/2oz) all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
- 500 g (1.1 lb) potatoes
- 100 g (3 1/2oz) onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 20 g (3/4 oz) brewer's yeast
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Time:
preparation time: 30 minutes
plus leavening time
cooking: 30 minutes - Difficulty:
medium difficulty - Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: XX (kCal) - XX (kJ)
Protein: XX (g)
Total fat: XX (g)
Total carbohydrate: XX (g)
Sugars: XX (g)
This is a flat bread Sicilians who live in Ragusa make very often. It tastes fantastic!
As we are used to say: the simplest food is the tastiest food!
Prepare the flat bread dough. Melt the brewer's yeast in 50 ml (2 fl oz - 1/4 C) of warm water.
Sift the flour on the work surface and make two wells, one large (in the centre) and one small at the side.
Put the salt in the small well. Put two tablespoons of olive oil and melted yeast in the large well.
We are used to make two wells at the beginning for a special reason: for a better leavening you can't put salt and yeast
together.
At this point draw in the flour from the edge of the
large well slowly, stirring and adding other warm water (about 50-70 ml) gradually. Finally incorporate the salt too. At the end you must have a soft dough. Knead the dough on the floured work surface for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and there is no trace of the
dough on your fingers. Cover with a napkin and allow to rest for at least 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size in a warm place,
faraway from draughts.
If it is cold, you can put a bowl full of hot water under the dish with your pizza dough.
Prepare the filling. Cut the potatoes into small pieces and let them sauté with two tablespoons of olive oil on very low heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Use a non-stick frying pan for the best result. Season to taste with salt.
The last step. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
Grease a 24 cm (10in) round pan with the remaining olive oil and then sprinkle it with a tablespoon of flour. Cut the dough into two halves. Roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface, you can obtain a round shape, larger than 24 cm. Use one piece to line the pan. Spoon the potatoes with their olive oil on the bottom and then the onions. Sprinkle some fennel seeds according to your taste. Cover with the other piece. With your moisten fingers close the edges very well. Sprinkle other fennel seeds on the surface. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the surface is well golden.
Serve warm or cold cut into slices.
Note
- - It's difficult to say how much water you need while you're making the dough. The quantity can vary every time. It depends on the flour, on the temperature and on other variables. Sometimes you'll have to add much more water; or you'll have to add some flour if the dough is very sticky. But don't worry! You'll become very good in a short time. You only need to try a few times.
- - Generally we use kamut flour to make this flat bread as you can see in the photo.
- - If you have some pieces left you can warm them up.
What's the right wine ?
Our suggestion is: Contea di Sclafani Bianco (white wine from Sicily) or another white wine.
The author Loretta Sebastiani lives in Italy (IT)
Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest