Much more than a snack, the savory plumcake with olives and bacon is a tasty and colorful rustic dish, made with durum wheat semolina, which gives it, in my opinion, a much fuller and more enticing flavor compared to traditional soft wheat flour. It can be served with vegetables and cold cuts as a finger food appetizer, to accompany pizza or aperitifs (try it with a good prosecco, as well as with dark or light beer). The savory plumcake with olives and bacon is ideal for emptying out the fridge, has a very soft texture and a well-aerated interior; it is easy and quick to make and its aroma will make your mouth water while it cooks. It keeps for a few days, well closed in a cake carrier or airtight container, without losing its enticing flavor. We can personalize this recipe with mushrooms, speck, or whatever we like.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups durum wheat semolina
- 3 tbsp potato starch
- 3 tbsp table cheese
- 1 packet instant yeast for savory preparations
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- to taste Pepper
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 cup room temperature water
- 1 cup pitted green olives
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 1/2 oz Bacon (or diced salami)
- 1/4 tsp granulated sugar
Tools
- 1 Plumcake Pan
Preparation
1) Pit the green olives and slice them.
2) Preheat the oven to 340°F. I prefer cooking at a temperature that is not excessively high. The plumcake, in fact, develops more homogeneously and uniformly by cooking more slowly, resulting in extraordinary softness and good aeration.
3) Start with dry ingredients. In a large bowl, sift the yeast for savory cakes, add the pinch of sugar (to balance the flavor of the yeast), the durum wheat semolina, the potato starch, salt, grated cheese, and a grind of black (or green) pepper, and mix them with a steel whisk.
4) Add the whole eggs, water, oil, and finally the olive slices and bacon (diced salami also works well).
5) Start mixing with a fork; when the ingredients are combined, switch to a steel whisk and mix until you get a creamy and lump-free batter, just like cake batter.
6) Pour the batter for the savory plumcake with olives and bacon into the pan (I used a 12×4 inch pan) already lined with parchment paper; tap it lightly on the table to ensure that the mixture is evenly distributed within the pan and no air bubbles form.
7) Bake in the preheated oven at medium height for about 35-40 minutes.
Since ovens, cooking methods, and times vary, to check the doneness of our plumcake, insert a skewer in several spots, which should come out perfectly dry. Otherwise, extend the cooking by a few minutes.
8) Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and transferring it, if possible, to a rack that will allow excess moisture to be released.
Before slicing, I recommend waiting about an hour, as it is very soft and could break.
