Socca bread (Farinata)

Reading through the fabulous "Free From Food for Family and Friends" by Pippa Kendrick, I came across "Socca bread", made from only gram (chickpea) flour, olive oil and water. This was a fabulous discovery, since chickpeas are one of the few protein rich foods my daughter can currently have!

I did some research on the internet, since the roasted vegetable version Pippa has wouldn't have been possible for us, and discovered it is really, really versatile! In France it is known as Socca bread, in Italy it is called Farinata.

You make it exceedingly thin, like pancakes - there is a great recipe here.

Alternatively, you can bake it deeper to make a more filling bread, which is what we decided to do.

Ingredients

• 150g Gram Flour
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 250ml water
• Pinch of salt

Method

• Sift the gram flour into a mixing bowl. (Gram flour tends to settle and get lumpy.)
• Whisk in the olive oil and water until completely smooth
• Apparently the batter should ideally sit for at least 1-2 hours before cooking.
• Pour into a flan dish for a thick bread
• Bake at 180C for apprize 30 minutes until cooked.
• Cut into wedges and serve!

Tip: This is so versatile, you can add roasted vegetables, olives, caramelised onions, bake it thin like a pizza or thick like a bread. It can be pitta bread texture or soft wedges. You choose!


UPDATE

Today I tried a thinner version of the batter, with just a little more water, and it made a lovely pancake. When the batter started to cook I added roasted courgettes, carrots and puy lentils to half and flipped it over. Apparently it was delicious!