Schiacciata all'Uva

Emiko Davies’s selected schiacciata all’uva is a sweet Florentine grape bread with two layers of dough. Grapes sit between those layers and across the top, where their dark juices mingle with sugar and olive oil.

Dried yeast is first mixed with a little of the measured water and flour. The remaining flour and water join gradually, followed by olive oil, to make a wet, sticky dough that rises until doubled.

The grapes are washed, dried and separated from their stems. Wet hands spread half the risen dough into a lined pan before half the grapes, half the sugar and an olive-oil drizzle cover this first layer.

The second dough layer covers the filling, and wet fingers make small craters across its surface. The remaining grapes and sugar go on top with more olive oil, and baking continues until the dough is golden and crisp and the grapes release their juices.

Davies allows the bread to cool before cutting it into squares, with an optional dusting of icing sugar. She associates this seeded grape bread with Florentine harvest-season bakeries and describes its violet juices and sticky surface as part of its appeal.