Here it is another of the many types of Italian focaccia.

This time I prepared a typical recipe of Sardinia region, the Mustazzeddu. But it is known also as Pratzida, Prazzira, Sa pani cun tamatiga (literally bread with tomato), and for sure some other names too, depending on the area/villages 🙂

It seems this recipe originated in the area of Sulcis-Iglesiente, and some legends say that the local nuns invented this recipe, to feed the poor people with a simple but richer meal rather than just the simple bread. It was also a typical meal for the miners working in that area.

It’s a very simple recipe, but like all the simple recipes the details make the difference, and the choice of the few ingredients. It is usually prepared in summer, with fresh ripe tomatoes, but depending on the villages also other ingredients can be used, like the eggplants or other seasonal vegetables. In some of my photos, since it was december, of course I didn’t buy the tasteless tomatoes of this season but I used “pomodorini del piennolo del Vesuvio (a pacchetelle)” in jar, which tasted almost like fresh in summer, so if you also want to make it out of season it’s possible with some good artisanal jarred tomatoes of this kind or similar.

It is usually prepared with durum semolina flour, both “semola rimacinata di grano duro” and “farina/semola di grano duro“, with the first used in higher percentage if you want to obtain a more crunchy result.

Another important ingredient is the extra virgin olive oil, a good quality oil will make a difference too.

Traditionally it is made with sourdough and baked in the wood oven, but if you use little amounts of fresh baker’s yeast and you let the dough to leaven properly, also in that case it’s possible to obtain great results at home.

Let’s see!

 

INGREDIENTS (for a 26-28 cm round pan):

For the dough:

• 500 g semolina durum flour (I used 300 g of “semola rimacinata di grano duro” and 200 g of “sfarinato di grano duro Senatore Cappelli“)
• 330 ml water
• 3-4 g fresh baker’s yeast
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 13 g salt

For the filling:

• 900-1000 g ripe small tomatoes 
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• fresh basil leaves
• extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• salt
• 3-4 anchovies, better if salt-cured (optional)

 

1. First of all prepare the dough: sift the flours, add the crumbled yeast, the water and start working it at low speed. When the water is absorbed add the salt, and when the dough got a shape add also the extra virgin olive oil. Keep working it for about 10 minutes, until smooth and no more sticky. I also suggest to do 2-3 series of folding, every 15-20 minutes. Then take a bowl, greased with some olive oil, and place the dough, covered with a plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temperature until it doubles its size, about 6-7 hours.
2. During this time prepare the filling: cut the tomatoes, add some salt and after 1 hour drain most of the liquids out (but keep it). Then just before flattening the dough, season with extra virgin olive oil, pepper, salt, add the basil, the minced garlic and the anchovies. Let the flavors mix together.
3. Now take an oven pan and place a baking paper inside, grease the bottom with olive oil and some flour.
4. Flatten the dough, with a rolling pin, not too thin but at least half centimeter thick.
5. Put the flattened dough in the pan, leaving the external dough falling outside from the edges (try to make it as more round as possible, and place it exactly in the middle).
6. Now simply pour the tomatoes inside (but I suggest to drain some liquids out), spread it well inside, and then bend the external dough over the filling, and bend it like in the photos.
7. Brush the dough with some olive oil mixed with the drained water of the tomatoes over the dough and bake it at 250 °C, static oven, for the first 20 minutes, and then at 220 °C for the last 30 minutes. All together about 50 minutes (if it gets too dark cover it with an aluminium foil).
8. Take it out, let it cool down and then serve it 🙂 it’s good either warm or also cold!

 

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Products used:

Flour: semola rimacinata di grano duro from Garofalo, and stone ground organic “sfarinato di Senatore Cappelli” from Mulino Marino

Tomatoes: “pomodorini del piennolo del Vesuvio a pacchetelle” from San Nicola Dei Miri/Gentile

Extra virgin olive oil of my father, from lake Iseo.