Friday 15 August 2008

Schiacciata con l'uva

I've had a friend staying this week, but I had to work late and so on, so the plan was to have a nice breakfast together before she flew out on Thursday. I racked my brains for a good breakfast dish that was going to be pretty impressive but not too irksome to make and not leave me with too much washing up. I rejected various fry-ups and egg dishes because the timing was awkward, and then remembered the wonderful grape foccacia Schiacciata con l'uva.

Last year when my mother and I were in Florence, our apartment was very close to a little pasticceria, so we'd run across to get pastries for breakfast and this is one that we had. A yeast-raised dough in two layers, with tiny, pippy wine grapes exploding juicily in the middle and on top.

Because Judy Witts is my guru of all things Tuscan, I mostly followed her recipe - including using blueberries instead of grapes. But because I am an incorrigible fiddler with recipes, I also referred to some other sources who used some wine in the dough, thought it sounded a good idea and substituted half a cup of red wine for some of the water used on the yeast.
Because my timing was going to be a bit tight, I kneaded the dough on Wednesday morning before work and stuck it in the fridge. I went through a bit of a baking stage a few years back and Paul Hollywood's tip that dough rises perfectly albeit slowly in the fridge was a revelation.

So all I had to do yesterday morning was preheat the oven, roll out the dough and squidge the blueberries onto it. And it was bloody brilliant. Next time I will make the edge a bit thinner - there is too thick a portion that has no fruit - and use fresh rosemary. But it was just so luscious! Soggy with juices in the best possible way, not too sweet and a really fantastic breakfast.

3 comments:

HH said...

Sounds and looks fantastic!! I am craving fresh, fruity bread now!

kat said...

oh that look so good I tried to do something similar with sour cherries but I must have killed my yeast & ended up with a rock

Alicia Foodycat said...

Sour cherries! That is a brilliant idea! I will try that next time Kat.

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