Simple and genuine wild berry schiacciata
Mixed Berry Schiacciata is a soft and fragrant sweet leavened cake I make when I want to transform overripe fruit into something special.
- 600g of berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and currants if desired)
- 500 g of '00 flour
- 100 g of sugar
- 10 g of fresh brewer's yeast (or 1 heaped teaspoon of dry brewer's yeast)
- 300 g of water
- 5 tablespoons sunflower seed oil (or melted butter)
- 5 g of salt
- 4 tablespoons of sunflower seed oil (or melted butter) for filling and finishing
- 4 tablespoons of sugar to fill and complete
- First of all, prepare a pre-dough by mixing 100g of water taken from the total, the yeast and 95g of flour taken from the total until you obtain a sticky cream:
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour at room temperature until doubled in volume and bubbles form on the surface. Then, add the remaining flour, remaining water, and sugar to this leavened pre-dough. Turn on the stand mixer at low speed with the K beater attachment, or knead by hand until the ingredients are well combined. When the dough no longer sticks, knead by adding 1 tablespoon of oil at a time, mixing at medium speed. Add the next tablespoon only when the first tablespoon is absorbed. Then, remember to turn the dough out onto a work surface, fold it a few times, and then start over. Once all the oil has been absorbed, add the salt. Knead well. The resulting dough should be compact and smooth. Finally, dust the work surface with a little flour, turn the dough out onto it, shape it into a ball, and place it in a bowl.
- Then cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in the oven with the light on until it has tripled in size, about 3 hours. If the room is quite cold, before placing it in the oven, turn it on at 30°C (86°F) for 5 minutes, venting the excess hot air until the temperature reaches 26°–28°C (79°–82°F), and let it rise. While the dough is rising, wash the berries and place them on a clean cloth to dry. When the dough has risen completely, it will have reached the edges of the bowl.
- At this point, turn it out onto a work surface with a pinch of flour and divide the dough in half:
- Brush the baking sheet with extra virgin olive oil. Roll out and fill the berry schiacciata. First, place the first dough ball in the pan and flatten it by patting it with your fingertips dusted with a pinch of flour. Gently pull the edges so they spread out on the pan. Then, add half the berries, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of oil to the base. Then, using a pinch of flour, roll out the other dough ball on the work surface, stretch it slightly, and transfer it onto the base you just made. Spread the edges so they match those of the base and pat the edges as if to close the schiacciata. Finally, add the remaining berries to the surface, carefully folding them in, making sure they stay firmly in place. Then let it rise in the oven with the light on for about 2-3 hours, until the edges have completely expanded in the pan and it has doubled in volume. This step is crucial and will ensure incredibly soft dough. Finally, dust the surface with 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Finally, bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (fan assisted oven at 160°C) for about 25–30 minutes in the middle rack. The berry schiacciata is ready when the berries release their juices and the surface turns a golden, caramelized color. Remove from the oven and let cool uncovered for at least 1 hour before serving. Your berry schiacciata is ready:
Thanks to your requests. Many of you had tried Schiacciata with Grapes, but many of you told me that the grape seeds were unpleasant, especially among children. So I thought: why not make a new version? Aided by some baskets of berries from the market and some blackberries from my garden, now too ripe to keep much longer, I immediately got to work. I spread a first layer of dough in a pan, distributed a generous amount of berries and sugar, then covered with more dough, more fruit, sugar, and finally a drizzle of olive oil. As it baked, the fruit began to break down, releasing purple and red juices that penetrated the dough, while the sugar formed a thin caramelized crust on the surface. The aroma emerging from the oven was incredible. I tasted it while it was still warm, and it was precisely that contrast that won me over:
very soft, juicy, sweet but at the same time pleasantly tart. Today I'm sharing this recipe with you.
A simple, waste-free recipe for berry schiacciata, from the dough and leavening to how to add the fruit without over-wetting the crust. For me, it's become one of...
dessert or after-dinner sweet, perhaps served with a cool glass of
How to make berry schiacciata
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour at room temperature until doubled in volume and bubbles form on the surface. Then, add the remaining flour, water, and sugar to this leavened dough. Mix in a stand mixer at low speed with the K beater attachment, or knead by hand until the ingredients are well combined.
Once the dough no longer sticks, knead the dough, adding 1 tablespoon of oil at a time, mixing at medium speed. Add the next tablespoon only when the first tablespoon is absorbed. Then, remember to turn the dough out onto a work surface, fold it a few times, and then start over. Once all the oil has been absorbed, add the salt. Knead well. The final dough should be firm and smooth.
Finally, dust the work surface with a little flour, turn the dough out onto it, round the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl:
Then cover with cling film and leave to rise in the oven with the light on until it has tripled in volume, about 3 hours.
If the room is quite cold, before putting it in the oven, turn it on at 30° for 5 minutes, let the excess hot air out, until it reaches a temperature of 26° – 28° and let it rise.
While the dough is rising, wash the berries and place them on a clean tea towel to dry.
When the dough has risen perfectly it will have reached the edges of the bowl:
Then brush the baking pan with extra virgin olive oil.
