Today we prepare the Ragusan scacce with Swiss chard or wild beets with whole wheat or traditional dough for scacce.
The scaccia with Swiss chard or wild beets is a ‘mpanata, meaning stuffed: the dough is rolled thick and closed like a round savory pie or a half-moon calzone with a meticulous decoration called riefico.
It is filled with Swiss chard and flavored with dried tomatoes.
The traditional Ragusan scacce dough is made with remilled durum wheat semolina.
I prepared my dough with stone-ground whole durum wheat semolina, alternatively whole wheat flour or ancient grain flour.
The process is the same, the whole wheat dough is slightly more delicate to handle and roll.
If you are a beginner, I recommend using remilled durum wheat semolina.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 cups remilled durum wheat semolina (or whole)
- 2/3 cup water (slightly sparkling)
- 1 g dry yeast (Mastro Fornaio PANEANGELI)
- 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cups remilled durum wheat semolina (or whole)
- 1 1/4 cups water (slightly sparkling)
- 1 g dry yeast (Mastro Fornaio PANEANGELI)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- whole wheat dough for Ragusan scacce
- as needed semolina (to roll out the dough)
- 2 bunches Swiss chard (or wild beets)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch dried red chili (coarsely chopped)
- as needed dried tomatoes (if in oil, well-drained)
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
• besides dried tomatoes, you can add pieces of black olives.
I used 1 g of dry yeast [for up to 500 g of semolina/flour].
Alternatively, you can use:
• 3 g of fresh yeast;
• 4 g of dried sourdough yeast.
* 7 g of dry yeast corresponds to 25 g of fresh yeast, check the manufacturer’s instructions.
Suggested Tools
- Colander
- Rolling pin
- Fork
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Preparation
Dough for Ragusan scacce with yeast
For the traditional or whole wheat dough, work in a mixer: semolina, oil, the warm water with dissolved yeast, and add salt halfway through the process until you get a firm and elastic dough ball to rest in a closed bowl in the darkest, coolest room of the house.
After 4 hours, work the dough ball again and let it rest.
After about 24 hours, the dough will be ready to be rolled and filled.Detailed procedure → Traditional and whole wheat dough for Ragusan scacce.
Ragusan scacce dough without yeast
• do not add yeast;
• add a pinch of baking soda.
Knead and let the dough rest for an hour at room temperature.
After an hour at room temperature, your yeast-free dough is ready to use.Clean the Swiss chard and wash it thoroughly, removing any soil residue.
In a pot, bring some water to a boil.
Add the Swiss chard and blanch it for a few minutes.
Remove, drain, and squeeze the Swiss chard.
Cut it into pieces.Season with:
• a pinch of salt;
• a pinch of coarsely chopped dried red chili;
• dried tomatoes cut into pieces or coarsely chopped;
• a drizzle of oil;
and mix.Work the dough by hand to restore its elasticity and divide it into dough balls:
• dough with 250 g of semolina into 2-3 balls;
• dough with 500 g of semolina into 4-5 balls.Use the semolina and a good rolling pin.
The whole wheat dough is more delicate to handle than the classic dough.Roll out a dough ball with the rolling pin into a dough disk of about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.
Use a pinch of semolina on the work surface and on the dough disk as you roll it out.
It is a series of flour, roll, flour, roll, rotate and so on.Spread the vegetable filling over half the disk, leaving the edges free.
Abbucca meaning fold the empty half of the disk over the filled half, closing like a calzone.
Seal the edges with your fingers.
Turn the edge over itself to obtain the characteristic rieficu or simply close as if it were a calzone.
Prick the scaccia with the fork in several places.
[step-by-step images valid for any type of filling].
* grandmother’s trick: if you prepared scacce with different fillings, prick them with the fork forming the initials of the filling, for example: B for Swiss chard.I set the oven as follows:
• temperature 356°F;
• fan-assisted mode.
Temperature and times may vary from oven to oven and based on the size of the scacce.
• preheat the oven well.
• bake for about 45 minutes in a fan-assisted oven and check the cooking.If you want a less rustic appearance, brush a drizzle of raw oil over the surface of the scacce.
Your scacce with Swiss chard or wild beets are ready.
Excellent both hot and cold, but I recommend waiting until they are warm.
Enjoy your meal!
Variations
You can use dough and filling to prepare:
• a savory pie filled with Swiss chard;
• a focaccia stuffed with Swiss chard;
in a rectangular or round pan to serve in slices.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Nutritional perspective
From a nutritional perspective, note that:
– in the scacce with Swiss chard there are no protein sources.
• before the scacce, consume a generous portion of raw or cooked vegetables;
• respect your portion sizes.Dialect curiosity
The scaccia with vegetables is variously known from Ragusa to Modica and surroundings as:
• scaccia;
• pastizzu if round;
• buccatieddu if shaped like a half-moon.
