Ciaccia con l'uva

White flatbread pizza with grapes, known as "ciaccia con l’uva", is a typical Tuscan recipe, made with risen bread dough, topped off with fresh grapes. It's a real treat, easy to prepare and suitable for a healthy snack. We interviewed food blogger Giulia Scarpalegga for advice on this recipe, as she was born and raised in Tuscany. In her Juls' Kitchen Studio, she prepares many typical Italian recipes (including this one) with her beautiful Bertazzoni Professional Series freestanding cooker: Vino!

 

INGREDIENTS (for two 33x25 cm/13x10 inches) baking trays

 

Ingredients for the poolish: i.e. the

poolish to be prepared the day before

1 g (0.035 oz) of fresh baker’s yeast

250g (9 oz) of bread flour

25 cl (8.5 fl oz) of cold water

 

Ingredients for the second dough:

500 g (17.5 oz) of plain flour

5 g (0.17 oz) of salt

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil + 1 tbsp for the baking tray

1 tablespoon of acacia honey

25 cl (8.5 fl oz) of lukewarm water

400 g (14 oz) of wine grapes

200 g (7 oz) of sugar

 

Prepare your poolish one day in advance, around dinner time. Its leavening will take at least 12 hours. Dissolve the baker’s yeast in cold water in a large bowl, then add the flour and stir with a whisk to remove all lumps.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough stand at room temperature until the following day: your poolish is going to be ready in 12 hours.

Put it into a large bowl, then add plain flour, salt, honey and extra virgin olive oil. Begin to knead, slowly adding water and allowing time to absorb it. At least ten minutes are needed, but the dough is eventually going to get hard and not very sticky.

With oiled hands, try to form a ball, then grease the bowl and place the dough into it. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 3 hours, until its volume has doubled.

After three hours, gently deflate the dough and divide it into four equal parts, always with oiled hands.

Grease two baking trays with extra virgin olive oil, then slowly roll two portions of dough out, directly onto the baking trays, letting the dough rest a little after each spreading.

Meanwhile, roll out the remaining two portions of dough onto a floured pastry board: try to enlarge the dough gradually, using your hands.

Cover the two pieces of white flatbread pizza in the pan with half of the sugar and sprinkle with grapes.

Cover them with the remaining two portions of dough, after spreading them out, and seal the edges of the dough carefully.

Let the dough rise at room temperature for two more hours, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar and a little olive oil. Press the remaining grapes into the flatbread. In the meantime, heat the oven to a 190 °C (375 °F) temperature.

When the oven is hot, bake your white flatbread pizza for at least 20-30 minutes, until it is puffed and golden brown.