Ligurian pizzata is a worthy and tasty alternative to the more traditional pizza, ideal for a Saturday evening with family or friends. The dough is lighter because it is based on “pasta matta” (literally “mad dough”) and is therefore unleavened.
It is very similar to the well-known cheese focaccia of Recco (in fact it can also be called focaccia pizzata); the dough is rolled into two thin sheets, one placed on top of the other, filled with crescenza and seasoned with a little tomato and with the traditional ingredients of Ligurian cuisine, such as extra virgin olive oil, Taggiasca olives, capers and anchovy fillets (if you are not vegetarian).
I recommend quite a strong flour (W 320), because it makes the dough more elastic and easier to roll out in very thin sheets. I use craft flour but Manitoba or a mix of flours is also fine. With these quantities you can prepare a large rectangular focaccia or make more than one in round baking tins. In the first case serve it cut into rectangles and in the second serve whole like a pizza or cut into wedges.
Have you never tried it? Then you absolutely must cook it with me… I am sure that you will fall in love with it. It also makes an excellent starter or finger food.
I love it so much I even eat it for breakfast!
Ingredients
Tools
Steps
With the mixer, put the flour, oil, a pinch of salt and water in and leave the machine to work with the dough hook for about ten minutes.
Without a mixer, put the flour in a bowl, make a hole in the middle and add water, oil and salt, mixing first with a spoon and then with your hands, kneading the mixture until it is compact and flexible.
Leave the dough to rest covered with a cloth or wrapped in food film for at least half an hour.
Put the oven on at 220°C (normal not fan oven).
If you are preparing a rectangular pizzata, divide the dough into two parts (one slightly larger than the other). Variant: you can also prepare several round ones, if so divide the dough into more parts (4 parts for two pizzate, 6 parts for 3), adjusting for the size of your baking tins. I made two with 30 cm baking tins and did not include anchovies as I had vegetarian friends.
Flour the work surface with durum wheat flour and using the rolling pin roll out a thin rectangular sheet, slightly bigger than the baking tray. Proceed manually, widening the pastry with a rotary movement, positioning your hands under the sheet, until it is thin, taking care not to make holes in the surface.
Lay the sheet obtained in the baking tray, previously greased with Italian extra virgin olive oil or lined with baking paper. Distribute the crescenza (stracchino) in small pieces the size of a walnut and cover the whole surface evenly.
Roll out the remaining dough to obtain a second sheet a little smaller than the first, making it as thin as possible, almost transparent. Lay it on the base covered with cheese.
Press the overlapping edges of the two sheets closed to stop the crescenza coming out during the cooking. Any folds of dough in excess can be removed with the help of a pair of scissors or a pasta cutter.
Pierce with the scissors at several points on the upper sheet, forming little cuts.
Brush the focaccia with extra virgin olive oil mixed with a little water.
Finally dress with the tomato purée, anchovies, Taggiasca olives, capers, a little salt and oregano. Sprinkle with a trickle of extra virgin olive oil.
Put in the oven at 220°C for 20 minutes. It must form a golden crust.
Serve hot, cut into slices.
Varied doses for servings