CookEat Recipe
Stiacciata Unta with Pork Cracklings
A gently sweet Tuscan bread enriched with egg yolks, rendered lard, cooked pork cracklings and citrus zest.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 700 g freshly prepared, active plain bread dough from a baker, made with wheat flour, water, yeast and salt, ready for its final rise; not sourdough starter or pure yeast; 120 g fresh rendered lard, soft but not hot, plus a little for the baking tin; 100 g caster sugar; 60 g fully cooked plain pork cracklings, finely chopped; use the solid pieces left after rendering pork fat, not puffed pork-rind snacks; 4 egg yolks, preferably pasteurized; 1 pinch salt; Finely grated coloured zest of 1 small unwaxed orange, or 1 small unwaxed lemon.
Step 2
Keep the dough and egg yolks refrigerated until preparation. Use active baker’s bread dough without added herbs, cheese or oil. Grease a shallow baking tin about 30 × 25 cm with a little lard. The tin size and citrus quantity are modern guides.
Step 3
Break the dough into pieces. Add the soft rendered lard, sugar, chopped cooked cracklings, yolks, salt and coloured citrus zest. Work just until combined and evenly supple; avoid prolonged kneading after enrichment. Press into the prepared tin, leaving room for expansion, and cover loosely.
Step 4
For the same-day method, let rise at ordinary room temperature, about 22–25°C, until visibly puffy and expanded, allowing about 3 hours. Keep away from heaters and direct sunshine; the historical warm floor is not needed. Timing depends on the activity of the supplied dough. Do not keep warming an inactive batch indefinitely.
Step 5
Heat the oven to 180°C. Bake for about 30–40 minutes until well browned and cooked through, with a set bread-like crumb rather than a wet or gummy middle. A probe in the centre should read about 90°C. If the surface browns before the middle is baked, cover loosely with foil. Cool on a rack before cutting into 12 pieces. Baking temperature, time and tin size are modern estimates absent from the source.
Step 6
For overnight preparation, mix and shape the same ingredients as above, cover and refrigerate promptly at 4°C or colder for 8–12 hours instead of leaving the egg-enriched dough warm overnight. Next day, allow about 2–3 hours at ordinary room temperature until puffy, then bake at 180°C for about 30–40 minutes with the same doneness checks. This refrigerated schedule is a modern adaptation; proofing may vary with the baker’s dough.
Step 7
For the version without cracklings, omit the 60 g cracklings and use 6 yolks and 150 g rendered lard in total. Keep the 700 g bread dough, 100 g sugar, pinch of salt and citrus zest. Mix moderately, shape in the greased tin, follow either proofing method and bake with the same doneness checks. The richer dough may rise more slowly; judge expansion rather than the clock.
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