Schiacciata

Everyone is afraid of working with Yeast and I am no exception. But lately, I have embraced the fact that yeast is something I will have to get used to working with. As you get good dishes out of it, it will become easier because we are gaining confidence slowly but steadily and once we conquer the so called "Beast" there is no turning back, because bread baking is one of the most satisfying baking there is. All the hard-work we put into kneading, waiting and waiting for it to rise and when it does rise, oh what joy! I still have not conquered the art of working with Yeast but slowly learning and processing.

This week for Fondbites Bake Along, we are doing an Italian bread known as Schiacciata. Fancy word right? But the bread itself is quite simple to make unlike its name ;) Its a flat bread which can be made plain or filled with anything of your liking. I made two versions, one with a simple yet tasty Broccoli Stir Fry and another sweet one with fresh Blackberries and Raspberries..

The prepared Schiacciatas you see in the pic above is before it was baked. I used 50% All purpose flour and 50% Whole wheat flour for the dough. Also, my dough didnt rise as much as I would have liked it to, but it was delicious all the same. For the savory version, I sprinkled some Oregano spice mix on top, after basting it with Olive Oil. 

We had these yummy broccoli slices with homemade Coleslaw- I Grated some beautiful red cabbage, carrots and Onions and mixed them with a Mayonnaise based bread-spread along with some mustard, vinegar, pepper and palm sugar to balance the sourness of all the above. Delicious combo!!

Moving on to the the dessert :D My Hubby got these beautiful fresh Blackberries and Raspberries from a trip to Dubai and I just couldnt resist using it. I just had to see those beauties in something. Although maybe it was not such a great idea because the berries kind of soaked the bread with their juices but it was delicious nonetheless, so no regrets! I mixed the berries with 3 tablespoons of sugar and let them sit for sometime and then filled the prepared Schiacciata with it. Look at all the juice that has oozed out. Oh.. Luscious!! 

 

We just had the slices as is, but it could have used more sweetness since the berries were quite tart. In case you choose to opt for this filling, do add more sugar to the berry mix or you can have these delicious slices with vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream. That's the way to go- Whipped cream. I can just imagine eating these with that..Sigh!

Hope I have helped you atleast a little to nudge you along the Yeast Street. Do try the recipe out. And play with the fillings. These versions I made are just 2 drops in the big ocean of fillings you can work with.

Get the recipe here -> Onion Tomato Schiacciata

Until next time, Keep Smiling and Happy Baking :)

This has been baked for Fondbites, Bake Along, a group of enthusiastic bakers who bake one recipe every week.