Fresh Italian pan-fried bread, or 'Friciula'

[Dianne]

Hi there everyone, especially Oldcoot

Here is the recipe for 'Friciula':

It's so easy as to be hardly believable!!!

First, make your pizza dough. I believe in sticking to the recipe that works best for me, so I'm not going to post a recipe for it. Bought fresh pizza dough also works, though not quite so well as home-made.

If you're making your own dough, let it rise once, knead it again and roll it out thin, then fry gently in good quality olive oil - extra virgin is best - on both sides until golden. It will go bumpy all over, but this is how it should be. If your'e using bought dough, roll it out to about a quarter of an inch thick before frying. It doesn't rise in quite the same way as home-made dough does, but the results are passable, and if you're in a hurry...When cooked, let it cool, cut it, while still warm, into one and a half inch squares, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt and finely chopped fresh rosemary. It's very good as a snack with an aperitif, and I haven't met anyone who doesn't like it!! I think it must be a local speciality from North West Italy, as I haven't come across it anywhere else

Buon appetito :D

Ciao

dianne

[kitchenelf]

Many thanks Dianne!

[ironchef]

What is the main difference between this and Focaccia? Just wondering.

[Dianne]

Hello Ironchef

The difference between Friciula and Focaccia is that Friciula is thinner and fried, whereas Focaccia is baked in the oven. Focaccia should be about an inch thick, with indentations made by your finger. Then you pour olive oil over it before baking. Focaccia is originally from Genoa, whereas Friciula is originally from Piedmont. Focaccia should be only slightly crusty, and softly bready on the inside. Friciula is too thin for that. There are recipes for focaccia dough, but you can use pizza dough if you want - they are very similar. If you would like a recipe for Genoese focaccia, I will post one. Hope this reply is satisfactory!

ciao

dianne

[leigh]

Dianne, yes, please post this recipe. I really appreciate your detailed and loving descriptions of things Italian. Keep those posts coming!!

Also, while you're at it, could you please describe pancetta and proscuitto (sp?)? (Not that either is to be found - at least by me to date - here in the middle of Nowhere That Thinks It's THE Where.)

Thanks!! :D