Jeffrey Hamelman

Socca

Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Dough Yield:

    2

    large

Appears in

top 1000Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

Bread

By Jeffrey Hamelman

Published 2004

  • About

Socca is a Regional Specialty of the area around Nice in southern France. It is also popular in Genoa, Italy, where it is known as farinata. This relatively unknown (in North America) flat bread is as delicious as it is easy to prepare. I first learned how to make socca from Rosemary Hubbard, a versatile and accomplished former instructor at King Arthur Flour’s Baking Education Center. Over the years I’ve enjoyed some variations, such as the addition of niçoise olives or sliced and lightly sautéed artichoke hearts (added after the socca has been in the oven for a few minutes so that they remain mostly on the surface and don’t sink to the bottom). Another variation is the addition of chopped rosemary to the batter.

U.S. Metric Home Baker’s %
Chickpea Flour 1.4 lb .7 kg 11.2 oz (2⅝ cups) 100%
Water 2.8 lb 1.4 kg 1 lb, 6.4 oz (2¾ cups) 200%
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil .14 lb .07 kg 1.1 oz (2½ T) 10%
Salt .03 lb .014 kg .2 oz (1 tsp) 2%
Total Yield 4.37 lb 2.184 kg 2 lb, 2.9 oz 312%

Method

  1. Mixing: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the water and olive oil and whisk until smooth. Let the batter stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Alternatively, refrigerate the batter for up to 24 hours.
  2. Baking: Liberally oil a 14-inch flared pizza pan (or large cast-iron pan). Heat the pan in a preheated 500°F oven. Better yet, if you have a wood-burning oven, the socca can bake at hotter temperatures, up to 700°F. Once the pan is hot and the oil just at the smoking point, carefully pour the batter into the pan and return to the oven. Bake the socca for about 15 minutes. In a wood-burning oven, the socca is done when the top surface is mottled with dark areas. In a home oven, finish by broiling the socca for 3 to 5 minutes until the surface is mottled (a salamander can accomplish this in a commercial bakery that lacks a broiler). Remove the baked socca from the pan, cut into rectangles, and eat while still warm. The slightly crispy bottom and top and the creamy, moist interior are a delight for the mouth.

© 2004 All rights reserved. Published by Wiley.