Recipe for “Schiaccia Briaca”

The schiaccia briaca is the queen of Elban traditional desserts. It was one of the most frequent gifts that the people of Rio offered to those going to sea.

Its almost dry dough, with little yeast and no eggs, provided an immediate and tasty energy source, suitable for being kept for a long time in the ship's hold.

The origins of schiaccia briaca date back to the period of pirate invasions on Elba. The recipe for this simple focaccia did not originally use alcohol, in order to comply with Islamic rules, and it combined various types of dried fruit, typical ingredients of Middle Eastern cuisine. In the 1800s, honey replaced the expensive sugar, and the schiaccia was "imbriacated" with aleatico wine and alchermes, which gives the dessert its characteristic reddish coloring on the surface.

Since there was no written recipe for centuries, the preparation of schiaccia briaca has been passed down orally from generation to generation.

Curiosity: Not everyone knows that there is also another version of the recipe: the Schiaccia Briaca from Capoliveri, which is white and uses Moscato instead of Aleatico.

Difficulty: easy
Cost: medium
Serves: 6/8 people
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Recommended Elban wine pairing: Elba Aleatico Passito D.O.C.G.

Ingredients

1 kg of white flour, 500 g of sugar, 200 g of dried grapes, 300 g of chopped dried fruit (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts), pine nuts, two glasses of oil, aleatico wine to taste, one glass of alchermes, a small piece of yeast.

Preparation

In the evening, prepare a small bread with yeast dissolved in a glass of warm water and 100 g of flour, then let it rise overnight, covered with a cloth.

Place the flour on a work surface, add the risen bread, chopped dried fruit, previously soaked dried grapes, oil, aleatico, and alchermes.

Mix everything, kneading well: the dough should be smooth and soft. Grease a round baking pan with oil, line the bottom with oiled parchment paper that also covers the edges, grease the parchment paper as well, and spread the dough over it.

Before placing it in the oven, cover the dough with pine nuts. Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool, and place the schiaccia on a plate, leaving the parchment paper it was baked on.

Photo by Gabila Gerardi - Blog Panedolcealcioccolato

The Schiaccia Briaca from Grandma Isa

Contest Trastulli Toscani - The Schiaccia Briaca of the Island of Elba

Video created by Vetrina Toscana for the Trastulli Toscani project