SCHIACCIATA all'UVA

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500 g ( 1 lb 2 oz) All purpose flour or 00 pizza flour

7 g ( 2 and 1/2  level teaspoons) active dry yeast
400 ml ( 13 and 1/2 fl oz) lukewarm water

75 ml ( 2 and 1/2 fl oz)  extra virgin olive oil ( plus extra for greasing)

600 g ( 1 lb 5 oz) concord grapes or black wine grapes

80 g ( 2 and 3/4 oz) superfine sugar

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Sift the flour * into a large bowl and create a well in the middle.

(Use your judgement regarding the use of all the flour. In our dry Colorado climate, I always cut the amount of flour down a bit.  This dough should be sticky and wet at first.)

 

Dissolve the yeast in about 125 ml ( 1/2 cup) of the lukewarm water.

 

Add the yeast mixture to the well in the flour and mix with your hand or a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the water little by little, working the dough well after each addition to allow the flour to absorb the water.

 

Add 1 T of the oil to the dough and combine.

 

This is a wet, sticky dough, so rather than knead it, you may want to work it with the wooden spoon or with well-oiled hands for a few minutes until it becomes smooth. Cover the bowl of dough with plastic and set in a warm place, out of drafts, until it doubles in size - about an hour. You can make the dough the night before you bake it to this point and let it rise in the fridge.

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Separate the grapes from the stems, rinse and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 375.

 

Grease an 8 by 12 inch baking sheet or round pizza pan with olive oil, then with well-oiled hands, divide the dough into two pieces, one a little larger than the other.

 

Place the larger half onto the baking sheet and spread the dough out evenly with your hands to cover the pan and no more than about 1/2 inch thick.

 

Place 2/3 of the grapes onto the dough and sprinkle half the sugar over them. Drizzle about 30 ml ( 1 oz) extra virgin olive oil over them.

 

Stretch out the remaining half of dough to roughly the size of the pan and cover the grapes, stretching it to cover. Roll the bottom edges up  from underneath to seal the edges.

 

Gently push your fingers into the dough to dimple it all over. Cover the top with the rest of the grapes, sugar and olive oil.

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Bake about 30 minutes or until the dough becomes golden and crispy on top and the grapes are oozing and cooked.

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Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and eat with your hands.