Recipe: Flatbread with Sun-Dried Tomato and Asiago Cheese (Sardinia)

the appetizer:

Artisan Breads at Home by The Culinary Institute of America, includes recipes like Bialys with Fillings; Day of the Dead Bread; and Flatbread with Sun-Dried Tomato and Asiago Cheese.

Cookbook

Flatbread with Sun-Dried Tomato
and Asiago Cheese

These sharp, salty Sardinian crackers are as pleasing to look at as they are packed with flavor. The dough, made with all-purpose and semolina flours, is flavored and tinted red with sun-dried tomato puree; a sprinkling of Asiago cheese in the dough adds a pointedly savory flavor, complementary to the sweetness of the tomato. These thin, crisp crackers are perfect for dipping, or simply snacking on alone.

Yield: 80 crackers
FDT: 80 degrees F
First rest: 30 minutes
Final rest: 20 minutes
Bake: 375 degrees F and 14-16 minutes

Flatbread

Ingredient	Ounces	Grams	Volume	Bakers %
Sun-dried tomatoes	1.0	28		4.7%
Water, 80 degrees F	8.4	238	1 cup + 1 Tbsp	39.8%
Olive oil	2.4	68	1/3 cup	11.4%
Malt syrup	0.1	2	1/4 tsp	0.5%
All-purpose flour	9.1	258	2 cups + 2 Tbsp	43.1%
Semolina flour	12.0	340	1-3/4 cups + 2-1/2 Tbsp	56.9%
Asiago cheese, finely grated	1.0	28	1/4 cup	4.7%
Salt	0.2	6	1 tsp	0.9%
Total	34.2	968		162.0%

Garnishes

Olive oil, as needed
Salt, as needed

1. If using dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, they will need to be softened by bringing 1 cup of water to a boil and soaking the tomatoes in the water for 15 minutes. Drain the tomatoes, dry them off, and puree them in a food processor. For oil-packed tomatoes, simply drain them and then puree.

2. Put the water, oil and malt in the bowl of a mixer. Add the flours, pureed sun-dried tomatoes, cheese and salt. Place the bowl on a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix for 4 minutes on low speed, making sure to scrape down and flip the dough over twice during mixing. The dough will be somewhat dry, but homogenous.

3. Remove from the mixer and place the dough on a lightly floured work surface, dividing it into 4-oz pieces, and rounding the pieces against the table into balls. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

4. Take each dough piece, lightly flour and flatten the dough ball by hand, then put it into a pasta machine, with the machine set on the widest setting. Roll the dough through and, lowering the setting in small increments, continue this process until the dough is as wide as the space between the pasta machine rollers. Remove the dough and turn a quarter turn,lightly dust with flour, then roll the dough through the machine in the opposite direction until the second-to-last setting is reached, or until the dough is as thin as paper. Lay each piece of dough on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and cut off the excess so that the dough fits entirely on the tray. Lightly brush the dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

6. Uncover the dough pieces and use a pastry wheel or pizza wheel to cut them into crackers of various shapes. Sprinkle the tops of the crackers lightly with salt.

7. Place the baking trays in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the trays and bake an additional 4-6 minutes, until the bread is light golden brown.

8. Remove the baking trays from the oven and place on a cooling rack.