Crescia di Gubbio

The dough

The specification gives each ingredient as a range per kilo of dough. This batch is one kilo from its brewer's yeast table, with values of ours inside each range.

1. 1Weigh the ingredients and dissolve the yeast

   Start
   Hands-on 5 min

   Put the 650 g of flour, the 10 g of baking powder and the 8 g of sea salt in a large bowl and stir them together. In the jug, crumble the 15 g of fresh yeast into the 320 ml of lukewarm water and stir until it has dissolved.

   Check No lumps of yeast left in the water, and the baking powder evenly mixed into the flour.

   Tip Our guide: per kilo of dough, the specification's brewer's yeast table allows 600 g–700 g of flour, 5 g–25 g of instant raising agent, 10 g–20 g of brewer's yeast, 3 g–10 g of sea salt and 200 g–400 g of water, and preservatives within the law. The values here sit inside every range, with no preservatives.

   Tip Our guide: water at about 30 °C feels just warm on the wrist and helps the yeast start; it should never feel hot.

   Tip No oil, lard or butter, in the dough or on the board: the specification adds no fat at all.

2. 2Mix and knead, for 20 minutes at most

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   Hands-on 10–15 minOfficial textStart 15 min timer

   Mix all the ingredients, by hand or with a mixer, until they form an even dough. Knead only until it is even, and never for more than 20 minutes.

   Check One smooth, even dough with no dry flour left: firm rather than soft, and barely sticky. Pressed with a finger, it springs slowly back.

   Tip Our guide: pour the yeasted water into the flour, mix in the bowl, then turn the dough out onto the board. By hand this takes about 10–15 minutes; with a dough hook on low speed, about 8–10.

   Tip Our guide: the dough is firm, with about half the flour's weight in water. If it will not come together, add water a tablespoon at a time; the table allows up to 400 g per kilo of dough.

Dividing and rising

1. 3Divide the dough into pani

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   Hands-on 2 minOfficial text

   Divide the dough, by hand, into pani of the size you want each crescia to be.

   Check Pieces of equal weight, each shaped into a smooth ball.

   Tip Our guide: 2 pani of about 500 g each, for discs about 24 cm across in a pan of 28 cm. In a smaller pan, make 3 pani of about 330 g, for discs about 20 cm across.

   Tip Our guide: tuck the edges under each piece to make a smooth ball; it rolls out rounder.

2. 4Put the griddle on to heat

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   Temp 200 °C–220 °CHeat medium

   Set the testo or pan, dry and ungreased, over a medium flame now, so that it is hot by the time the pani have risen.

   Check An infrared thermometer reads about 200 °C–220 °C on the surface. Without one, a pinch of flour scattered on it turns light brown in about 15–20 seconds, without burning at once.

   Tip Our guide: 200 °C–220 °C, inside the specification's 150 °C–250 °C. A cast-iron pan takes about 10 minutes to get there; a thick stone or clay testo takes longer, so put it on as soon as you start kneading.

   Tip Never grease the griddle: the disc goes onto the dry surface.

3. 5Leave the pani to rise

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   Rest 15–20 minOfficial textStart 15 min timer

   Leave the pani to rise for 15–20 minutes.

   Check Slightly puffed and softer to the touch; a finger pressed in leaves a dent that fills slowly.

   Tip Our guide: cover them with the cloth on the board, so that no skin forms on top.

Rolling and cooking

1. 6Roll each pane into a disc

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   Hands-on 2–3 minOfficial text

   With the rolling pin, roll each pane into a round disc of the size the specification sets for the crescia: 15 cm–42 cm across and 1 cm–2 cm thick.

   Check An even thickness all over, edge included, with no thin patches.

   Tip Our guide: flour the board lightly. A pane of 500 g rolled 1 cm thick makes a disc about 24 cm across; it thickens a little on the griddle. Turn it a quarter turn every few strokes, so it stays round.

   Tip Our guide: roll the second pane while the first one cooks, so the discs never wait stacked.

2. 7Cook on both sides, pricking it with a fork

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   Cooking 16–20 minTemp 200 °C–220 °CHeat mediumOfficial textStart 8 min timer

   Cook the disc on the panaro, over a wood fire or gas, or on a gas-heated plate, at 150 °C–250 °C, on both sides, turning it over by hand. To help it cook, prick its surface with a fork or another metal utensil. The cooking takes 4–10 minutes, according to the size of the crescia and the way it is cooked.

   Check Both sides from ivory to dark amber, with amber patches and the fork holes on both faces; the edge firm, and a hollow sound when you tap the underside. A probe pushed sideways into the middle reads at least 95 °C.

   Tip Our guide: at home, a testo or pan heated to 200 °C–220 °C; lay the disc on the dry surface and turn it with the spatula. For a disc of about 24 cm, 8–10 minutes in all, turned about every 2 minutes; a crescia of 15 cm is ready in nearer 4–5. Then cook the next disc in the same way.

   Tip Our guide: prick the top as soon as the disc is on the griddle, and the other side right after the first turn, so the holes go through both faces as the specification describes.

   Tip Our guide: dark brown spots within the first minute mean the griddle is too hot, so lower the flame; still pale after 3 minutes, raise it a little.

   Tip Our guide: 95 °C or more in the middle means the crumb is cooked through.

3. 8Cool at room temperature

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   Rest 10 minOfficial text

   Leave each crescia to cool at room temperature.

   Check Warm rather than hot when you lift it, and the crust still crisp.

   Tip Our guide: on the rack, about 10 minutes before cutting, so the crust does not go soft underneath. At home it can be cut while still warm.

4. 9Cut and serve

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   Hands-on 2 min

   Cut the crescia into wedges and serve it as bread, for instance with Umbrian cured meats.

   Check Crisp outside and soft inside when you cut it.