Schiacciata con Salame

History

Schiacciata — meaning 'squashed' or 'flattened' — is Tuscany's answer to focaccia: a thin, crisp-edged, olive-oil-soaked flatbread baked in every forno (bakery) across the region. In Florence and the surrounding countryside, it has been the bread of choice for a quick sandwich since at least the Renaissance, when bakers sold it warm from the oven. The classic filling is simple and deeply Tuscan: sliced finocchiona (fennel-seed salame) or Tuscan salame and aged pecorino cheese. It is sold from bakeries and market stalls across Florence, eaten as a midmorning snack (merenda) or a quick lunch standing up.

Ingredients

• Schiacciata (Tuscan olive-oil flatbread)
• Finocchiona or Tuscan salame
• Aged Pecorino Toscano
• Extra virgin Tuscan olive oil
• Coarse sea salt
• Fresh rosemary

How to Make

1. 1Make or buy schiacciata: mix flour, water, yeast, olive oil and salt into a wet dough, stretch into a oiled baking pan, dimple generously, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and rosemary. Bake at 220°C for 20–25 minutes until golden.
2. 2Allow to cool slightly, then split horizontally.
3. 3Layer the bottom with thin slices of finocchiona or Tuscan salame.
4. 4Add thin slices of Pecorino Toscano.
5. 5Drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
6. 6Close, press gently and cut into portions.
7. 7Serve at room temperature.

Known for it

• Focacceria San Marco SrlP.za di San Marco, 9 B, 50121 Firenze FI, Italy