I went looking for a recipe for an appetizer that MM and I had at one of our favorite places in Rome, and I didn’t really get far. But with a little creativity, the recipe below hit the spot!
Olio Bread
dough
- 295 g warm water
- 7 g active dry yeast
- 530 g all-purpose flour
- 8 g salt
- 52 g olive oil
topping
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Kosher Salt
Directions
- Combine water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand 5 minutes. Add flour, then salt. Mix on low for 5 minutes, slowly drizzling the oil until it forms a ball and the oil has incorporated fully.
- Turn dough out and knead 1-2 minutes until soft, smooth, and elastic. Form into a ball, place in a bowl, cover, and prove for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
- When the dough has finished its rise, place cast iron skillet (or pizza stone) in oven, and preheat to 425 degrees F.
- Divide dough into halves. Form into two 12′ round pizza shapes (alternatively place one half of the dough into a greased zip top bag, and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze).
- When oven has reached temperature, carefully place dough disk into skillet or stone. Bake 15-20 minutes, until crust is lightly browned.
- Remove the crust from the skillet, and brush with topping olive oil, dust with Italian Seasoning and Kosher Salt to taste. Cut with pizza cutter, and serve.
One of our favorite restaurants in Rome, named Guilio Passami L’olio, has an appetizer that we realized we loved – it’s basically some kind of thin bread that is brushed with oil, salt, and maybe a little Parmesan cheese (or maybe not – it’s been a while since we’ve been to that restaurant).
I’ll be honest. It’s one of the best feelings in the world to sit outside, under a patio umbrella, with a half liter of Italian wine and this bread.
By the way, when I first made this recipe, I thought that I’d use the second half of the dough for another appetizer, but I ended up using it for easy pizza a few days later. Follow the preheat instructions (though the oven should be at 450 instead of 425), place the flattened dough into the skillet, spread your favorite pizza sauce and toppings, then bake for 20-25 minutes until the dough is golden, and the cheese is browned and bubbly!
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