Hello,
as the scope of this blog is to cook foods that are seasonal in our area, I thought I would give you a recipe for a schiacciata (flattened bread) I make frequently with grapes that are now readily available in our markets. The recipe needs an overnight rest for the dough, so a little planning is needed, but it works out really well on weekends.
It's a different use for grapes than most people might be accustomed to, but a very rewarding one. It's a very old Tuscan recipe (it is said to be Etruscan, as we seem to have depictions of it on pottery) for the time of the grape harvest. I have found a great adaptation for local ingredients and it works marvelously with seedless Red Flame grapes (which are on the markets now) as they have a high sugar content (the sugars caramelize beautifully when roasted) and no seeds. By the way, the grapes (this and most varieties) can be roasted and used in many other ways; they taste great on cereal, pancakes or in many recipes where you would otherwise use raisins (just compensate for the extra liquid). Enjoy!
Schiacciata, Tuscan Roasted Grape Focaccia
(pronounced “ Ski ah cha tah”) adapted from Suzanne Dunaway’s No Need to Knead (a great book, if you wish to make focaccias, ciabatte and other common Italian breads).
Ingredients:
1 ½ c warm water minus 2 T
1 package active dry yeast
¼ c sugar
1 large egg, beaten (optional)
3 ½ c
½ c whole wheat flour
2 T rye flour (optional, but especially with retarding the dough in the fridge, it helps develop a more savory flavor)
¼ c Extra virgin olive oil
2 t salt
3 lbs. Red Flame seedless grapes
sugar to sprinkle on top
Roasted grapes
Wash and pull grapes off stems. Put on baking sheet with 2 Tb of olive oil and roast in 350 oven for 35 minutes, until they give up some of their juice. Pull pan out and let cool.
In mixer bowl sprinkle yeast over water. Add sugar and egg and beat. Add flour (1/2 a cup at a time), oil, and salt. Beat until dough is smooth and satiny and pulls away from sides of bowl.
You might have to add more flour but try to use as little possible. The stickiness will decrease as the dough rises.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
Following day (you will need handy):
dough
roasted grapes
3 T sugar
13x18 baking sheet
Remove from refrigerator and let stand until doubled, about an hour.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Dislodge half of the dough onto oiled large baking sheet, 13-by-18-inch. Stretch it out to fill pan. If dough sticks to your hands, oil them or dip hands in cold water.
Dribble with olive oil.
Scatter half of the grapes over dough.
Roll out the other half of the dough on a floured surface, and gently layer it on top of the other half (like the top slice of a sandwich). Press the 2 halves together to eliminate air pockets.
Push with your fingers all the way through to the baking sheet, making holes in the dough and stretch the dough sideways, so that it fill almost the whole sheet.
Finally, sprinkle with olive oil, and the remaining grapes. You can sprinkle the sugar on top of it if you wish. Let rise about 15 minutes.
then:
Heat oven to 500. Bake for 5 minutes, then lower heat to 400 and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Watch that grapes don’t burn. Lay a sheet of foil over if they get dark. Transfer to large rack to cool. Serve (with a nice glass of red wine, a Chianti goes well with it).
roasted grapes, food, recipe, nutrition, seasonal, local, San Francisco, bread, italian, tuscan focaccia
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