Cheese and chilli oil schiacciata is a Tuscan flatbread somewhere between a focaccia and pizza. With a crispy crust and a satisfyingly chewy centre, it’s topped with chilli oil, lemon and baby bocconcini. Best of all, it can be enjoyed as is, or split it and stuff it with your favourite sandwich fillings!
It’s tradition; first recipe post of the year is bread!
It’s become my custom to bake bread on new year’s day. A quiet moment of reflection with a little bit of wish fulfilment as I make something from scratch. And while I tried out a new bread recipe this year to expand my repertoire (salted honey parker house rolls! We don’t have those here, so I was intrigued), it’s this cheese and chilli oil schiacciata recipe I’ve been making for years now that I’d like to share with you.
What is Schiacciata?
The name may sound fancy (or scary depending on your outlook), but the Tuscan schiacciata is no harder to make than the Genoan focaccia; in fact, it’s a lot quicker! Schiacciata, pronounced ski-ah-CHA-tah, literally translates to ‘flattened’ or ‘squashed’, referring to method of flattening and pressing the dough into baking tins instead of rolling it out.
As a result, the finished product is a thinner bread that’s just as bouncy as focaccia but also crispier, making it a cross between focaccia and pizza in texture. It also makes it very versatile; it can be a pizza base, sort of like this recipe, or it can be cut in half for a delicious sandwich. It’s as great served with soup as it is as part of a breadbasket or cheese board with oil for dipping in.
Other Favourite Recipes:
Types of Schiacciata
Traditionally, the savoury version of schiacciata is made with just an olive oil and sea salt topping; ideal for grabbing through a bakery takeaway window, wrapped in paper, on your way to work (or a leisurely morning of sightseeing, as it was in my case).
A sweet version, Schiacciata all’uva, is made during the grape harvest in autumn each year. It’s both sweet and savoury, adding late-harvest grapes, sugar and sometimes rosemary to both the inside of the dough and on top for a fruit-filled flatbread.
These are not to be confused with the rectangular, sweet cake-like version, Schiacciata alla Fiorentina, which is made during Carnival. Enriched with eggs and flavoured with vanilla and orange, it’s typically served with pastry cream or whipped cream, and instantly recognisable from the Florence lily stencilled on the top with icing sugar or cocoa powder.
Ingredients you’ll need to make Cheese and Chilli Oil Schiacciata
The dough is made with the usual suspects: flour, yeast, olive oil and water. There’s some sea salt for enhanced flavour and touch of honey – a nod to the salty-sweet versions. I prefer to use bread flour as it can get quite humid here, but all-purpose flour will work equally well if you don’t have or don’t want to buy bread flour.
For the toppings in this version, you’ll need olive oil, garlic, chilli and marjoram to make a flavoured oil, baby bocconcini and pecorino, and lemon zest for a little uplifting zing. You’ll also need your choice of mascarpone or crème fraiche; both will melt into the dough and create a rich and crispy crust as the schiacciata bakes. Use mascarpone as the first option, but if you don’t like it or can’t find it, crème fraiche adds a nice tang that pairs well with the lemon rind.
What to Serve with Schiacciata?
As lovely as this bread is served with a bowl of soup, it has enough going for it to be the star. So serve it warm or at room temperature as part of a cheese and antipasto platter, with the leftover oil for dipping.
Any leftovers make for a great sandwich the next day; just slice it in half, fill it with cheese, cold cuts if that’s your thing, and enjoy.
Looking for other bread recipes? Try these:
If you make this Cheese and Chilli Oil Schiacciata recipe please be sure to leave me a comment and let me know. Did you swap out any of the toppings? Do you like this crispier cousin to focaccia? Or tag me over on Instagram, I love seeing what you guys are making from the blog!
Cheese and Chilli Oil Schiacciata (Tuscan Flatbread)
Ingredients
For the Schiacciata dough
- 450 g bread flour
- 7 g dried yeast
- 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 260 ml cold water, plus more if needed
For the topping
- 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced, seeds left in or removed
- ¼ cup marjoram, picked and tightly packed
- 80 g mascarpone or crème fraiche, room temperature
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 20 baby bocconcini, or 10 cherry bocconcini
- 20 g pecorino, coarsely grated, divided
Instructions
- To make the dough, add flour, yeast, oil, salt, honey and cold water into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.450 g bread flour, 7 g dried yeast, 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon honey, 260 ml cold water
- Knead on medium-low speed until a shaggy, sticky dough forms. Then increase the speed and knead for 4-5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic, not sticky, and bounces back when you push your finger against it.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 50-60 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, make the flavoured oil by heating up the oil, garlic and chilli in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the oil just starts to bubble, take it off the heat, stir in the marjoram and set it all aside to steep while you finish making the bread.60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, 1 long red chilli, ¼ cup marjoram
- Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. When the dough has doubled in size, uncover it, knock it back and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, place the dough on the prepared baking tray and press and squash it with your fingertip until it’s roughly a 12x25cm rectangle or oval. (Alternatively, you can use a rolling pin if you prefer.) Repeat with the other half.
- Press your fingers all over the dough to create the familiar dimples you see in these types of breads (see pictures above if you’re unsure.) Spread the mascarpone or crème fraiche all over the dough and set aside for a second rise, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes.80 g mascarpone or crème fraiche
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. When the dough has risen, season with salt and pepper and scatter over the lemon rind. Drizzle the dough with about half of the flavoured oil and dot all over with the bocconcini. Grate over half of the pecorino and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown.20 baby bocconcini, Zest from 1 lemon, 20 g pecorino
- Take the schiacciata out of the oven and grate the remaining pecorino all over. Serve warm or at room temperature with the remaining flavoured oil to dip into on the side.20 g pecorino
