[Recipe] Brasserie Bread’s Schiacciata con l’uva

This post begins with a lie… the recipe I’m sharing with you is for Schiacciata Con L’Uva – but the bread that I made isn’t “Con L’Uva” (with grapes) at all! It’s kind of the beauty of it though – even though this recipe is for a traditional Italian flat bread with grapes, it’s so versatile you can really top it with anything. The photo above is a Schiacciata I made with blueberries – which just happen to be in season and so super cheap right now – but honestly you could use almost anything.

Tomato and cheese!

I first learnt how to make this bread last year at Brassierie Bread’s Artisan Bread Masterclass at Masterchef Live (see my post about it here) – it’s so simple and now I make it all the time! Home-made bread takes a little bit of time to make – the kneading, and proving… but the results are so worth it! I’m definitely no expert, and if even a super kitchen noob like me can do it, I reckon anyone can!!

Of course reading a blog post is nothing compared to being taught the actual process live – and if you are able to, I would strongly recommend booking in a baking class at Brasserie Bread. You will not regret it! Their teachers are so patient and excellent and really give you the confidence to make bread at home!
Here is the Brasserie Bread Class Schedule for Sydney (Melbourne classes are also available)

This whole procedure for the Schiacciata Con L’Uva is actually shown in Season 2 of Masterchef – when Brasserie Bread’s Michael Klausen led Marion and Aaron in a bread making masterclass. You can watch the whole thing here:
Masterchef Online Video

When Matt Brock from Brasserie Bread showed us how to make artisan bread at Masterchef Live – he had a few handy tips for us:

• Some recipes call for you to mix your yeast with warm water to “activate” it and to speed up the process. This is totally unnecessary. Adding warmth to the process speeds it up, but this comes at the cost of flavour. This recipe from Brasserie Bread instead calls for chilled water, and if possible – to keep your dough in the fridge as it rises. The cold slows down the process and allows the complex flavours to develop.
• Don’t be alarmed if your dough is really wet and sticky! Your first instinct will be to flour your table or board and to keep adding flour to make your dough drier. Resist the temptation! The wetter the dough is, the better. The dough will become less and less sticky as you begin to knead, until it eventually becomes nice and smooth. Adding extra flour by flouring your board will only make your bread tougher!
• Instead of kneading the dough for 20mins straight, this method uses a process called “Autolyse” – where you alternate between kneading for short bursts, and letting the dough rest. As the dough rests, the enzymes in the flour continue to break down the proteins and starch – effectively doing all the work, with no added effort from us! Sweet! (there’s a cool article about autolysis here if you want to read more about it: The Autolyse Method)
• Bread calls for flour with a high protein content. Brasserie Bread uses beautiful unbleached organic Kialla flour, which they also sell in their cafe shop in Banksmeadow. The Kialla flour has a protein level of 12.5% – which means it’ll be able to form the strong gluten bonds that are necessary to make bread. Ordinary plain flour has a protein level of around 10% and if you use it, your bread will probably rise too much and then fall flat, as the gluten bonds aren’t strong enough to hold in the air.

I was able to find 5kg bags of Wallaby unbleached baker’s flour by Laucke in my local Coles supermarket for about $10. It has a protein level of 11.9%

Yeast on one side, Salt on the other side – if the salt comes into direct contact with the yeast, it will kill the yeast!

The kneading uses a French method popularised by Richard Bertinet… here’s a youtube video I found which demonstrates the throwing method! This way works air into the dough, giving you a light and fluffy texture.

PS. It’s also a really good way of working out any anger issues you might be having. Just sayin’

My final dough!

Now on to the recipe!

This recipe will make 2 loaves (they fit in my 2 brownie pans)

Schiacciata Con L’Uva

(recipe from Brasserie Bread and reposted with permission)

Ingredients:
420g organic unbleached plain flour
6g instant yeast (you can buy this from the supermarket in little sachets) – if using fresh yeast, double this amount
285g chilled tap water
10g extra virgin olive oil
10g salt

For the topping:
10g extra virgin olive oil
100g seedless red grapes (or cherries)
20g organic raw sugar

Method:

Sift the flour into a large bowl and crumble yeast on to one side of the flour. Sprinkle salt on to the other side (you want to keep them apart otherwise the salt will kill the yeast)
Add water and oil to the flour and mix well

Turn onto a clean unfloured bench and knead for 2 minutes then rest for 2 minutes
Complete this kneading/resting sequence 5 more times (6 times in total)
Test dough for ‘Gluten window’ by stretching a piece of dough between your fingers – if it stretches into a thin film without breaking, you’re good to go! If not, knead it for a few more minutes and test again.

Shape the dough into a boule (round shape) and place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap and place the bowl in your fridge for approx 1 hour (until it’s doubled in size)
‘Knock back’ the dough by pushing the air bubbles out of the dough. Cut the dough in half, and final shape by flattening slightly into large oval shapes onto a lined baking sheet

Now is when you add your toppings! Dip your fingers in olive oil, and push the dough in, creating indentations. Push the toppings (cherries, grapes, tomatoes, cheese cubes, whatever!) into these indentations.
Drizzle with more olive oil and if making a sweet bread, sprinkle generously with sugar
Allow to prove for another 30 – 40 minutes in a warm place

Bake in a pre heated oven at 190˚C for approx 20 minutes until golden brown
Allow to cool slightly then enjoy!