Scaccia

Scaccia is a rustic Sicilian tomato-cheese bread that is made with Caciocavallo cheese in southern Sicily. Yeast dough is rolled out thin, spread with a basil-tomato sauce and sprinkled with cheese. Layers are created by folding and turning the dough and it is baked in a hot oven for about an hour. Let’s go through the process step-by-step.

Make the Yeast Dough:

In a large bowl, mix the yeast together with the warm water and honey, and rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Add the semolina flour, salt and olive oil and mix until all of the ingredients are incorporated and a smooth ball forms. Move the dough to a counter (see photo above) and knead for 10 minutes. Return the dough to the large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Rest for 2 hours, it should double in size. Make the Basil-Tomato sauce.

Caciocavallo Cheese:

Caciocavallo cheese (also known as Ragusano) is one of the local cheeses from the Ragusa area, in southern Sicily, where we visit on our Foodie Trips to Sicily. It is an amazing cheese that comes in large rectangular loaves (see the photo above), and I use it extensively when we are in the region. Caciocavallo (Ragusano) is a firm “stretched-curd” cheese made from cow’s milk and was put on the Italian DOC protection list in 1955. Substitutes for this dish would include aged Provolone, Parmesan or Pecorino.

See my other recipes that use Caciocavallo cheese: Sicilian Stuffed Eggplant and Fried Caciocavallo Cheese.

Roll out the Dough:

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured counter until it is very thin; a rectangle about 2 feet wide and 1 1/2 feet tall. (Note: I’m making a triple batch here)

Add Basil-Tomato Sauce and Cheese:

Spread half of the Basil-Tomato Sauce over the center of the rolled out dough, leaving a 6-inch strip on each end without sauce. Spread half of the cheese over the tomato sauce.

Begin Folding and Layering:

Fold the two bare sides in, covering the sauce. Spread the remaining sauce over the left 2/3 of the top, and cover with the remaining cheese. You can see in the photo below that I covered the entire top of this layer in sauce and cheese, when only 2/3 of it should have been covered. In this case, I have created a layer with double the sauce and cheese, which is not desired.

Second Fold:

Fold the “bare: right side over the top of the sauce, and then fold the left third over to the right, creating layers.

Final Fold:

Fold the entire roll in half, widthwise and lay the dough into a parchment paper-lined loaf pan.

Bake the Bread:

Bake in a preheated 425-degree F. oven for about 1 hour. The dough should be very dark brown.

Rest, Slice and Serve:

Rest for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Slice with a serrated knife and serve while hot.

Scaccia

Recipe by Michael SalmonCourse: BreadCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

Yields:

Loaf

Scaccia is a rustic Sicilian tomato-cheese bread.

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon honey
2 cups semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Basil-Tomato Sauce, cooled (recipe below)
8 ounces Caciocavallo cheese (sub: Provolone or Parmesan), thinly sliced or shredded
Basil-Tomato Sauce
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of crushed canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the yeast together with the warm water and honey, and rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.
Add the semolina flour, salt and olive oil and mix until all of the ingredients are incorporated and a smooth ball forms. Move the dough to a counter and knead for 10 minutes.
Return the dough to the large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Rest for 2 hours, it should double in size.
Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.
Line a 5-inch by 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. I usually just lay an oversized piece of parchment paper on top of the loaf pan and force the paper down with the weight of the final stuffed bread.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured counter until it is very thin; a rectangle about 2 feet wide and 1 1/2 feet tall.
Spread half of the Basil-Tomato Sauce over the center of the rolled out dough, leaving a 6-inch strip on each end without sauce. Spread half of the cheese over the tomato sauce.
Fold the two bare sides in, covering the sauce. Spread the remaining sauce over the left 2/3 of the top, and cover with the remaining cheese.
Fold the “bare: right side over the top of the sauce, and then fold the left third over to the right, creating layers. Fold the entire roll in half, widthwise and lay the dough into the parchment paper-lined loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour. The dough should be very dark brown. Rest for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Serve while hot.
Basil-Tomato Sauce
Heat a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons olive oil and the minced garlic. Stir for 20 seconds.
Add the tomatoes and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar, basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.