Pizza Scima (Abruzzese Unleavened Flatbread)

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I have a little known culinary treasure to share with you today. Pizza Scima (pronounced sheema) is a shockingly good unleavened flatbread from Abruzzo. Why shocking? Because most of us have never heard of it before. In my opinion, such yumminess should not remain hidden! Don’t worry, I am here to remedy the situation. Below I provide some background and a recipe. Pizza Scima is something that you’ll want to munch on all day. It’s flavorful, super crunchy on the outside, and rather moist inside. Since there is no yeast, the recipe comes together in no time. Without a need to let the dough rise, the prep time is negligible. All it takes is flour, white wine, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt to make Pizza Scima. I’m sure that you’ll be happy to have it in your culinary rep. Who doesn’t need a quick flatbread recipe?

Pizza Scima… Some Background

As I mentioned above, Pizza Scima is from the Abruzzo region in central Italy. According to what I read, it was supposedly invented by Jewish immigrants that settled there in the middle ages, with the recipe itself dating from the late middle ages. Its birthplace is said to have come from the Jewish communities along the Trabocchi Coast along the Adriatic and the inland areas of Casoli, Lanciano, Roccascalegna, Altino, and San Vito Chietino (all within the Province of Chieti). Some claim that Pizza Scima was born in Lanciano.

With regard to the name of the flatbread, I read that scima is a twist on the word acime, a dialectal way of saying azzimo that means unleavened. Interestingly, scima or scema can also mean stupid, silly, simple, or dim-witted. However, although the recipe is simple, the name really applies to the fact that the bread doesn’t contain yeast. Other names that the pizza scima goes by are pizza scema, pizza scive, pizza acime, and pizza summa. I’ve chosen to go with the name I’ve come across the most.

Traditionally, one cooked this bread on the floor of the hearth. Cooks covered it with a domed lid (often with a handle) called a coppo, then covered the lid with embers. Thankfully, we can achieve great results with modern conventional ovens.

Convenience and craftiness

This bread is a perfect example of creating something out of nothing. Ingenious cooks found a way to get bread on the table, even without yeast on hand. (It’s another culinary gem from La Cucina Povera, or peasant food.) They really ended up with something delicious. Considering it was cooked right on the hearth, it was probably something a busy mother could whip up and keep an eye on while she was doing other chores. Brilliant!

Ingredients

You probably already have the required ingredients in your pantry – flour, extra virgin olive oil, fine & coarse sea salt, and white wine. That’s it.

In Abruzzo, it is common to use a local white wine called Trebbiano d’Abruzzo for this recipe. (Also local olive oil.) If you can find it, great, if not, simply use a light, dry white wine. If you wish, you may use half wine, and half water. Many recipes call for that combo. Personally, I love the flavor that the wine brings. The wine perfumes the whole flatbread.

Please keep in mind that you should use sea salt if possible. If not, use kosher salt. I would suggest that you avoid table salt which has a very harsh flavor.

Note that I have prepared this with 00 flour and fresh flour from my home mill that I sifted just once. (In Italian, that would be considered semi-integrale which is semi-whole wheat). We all preferred the white flatbread in our household but the wheat Pizza Scima was wonderful too.

How to prepare Pizza Scima

The process of making Pizza Scima is crazy simple. The dough comes together so quickly and easily that you don’t even need to break out your mixer. To prepare, combine your ingredients in a bowl and knead very briefly on your work surface until you have a soft, homogenous dough. This should only take a few minutes. At this point, you can either form it and cook it right away or let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

With my culinary training, it’s ingrained in me to let most doughs rest for a minimum of 30 minutes before forming or cooking. That step is to ensure that the gluten formed can relax a bit. If you don’t rest your dough, you risk having a tough product. However, I tested the recipe twice and didn’t really notice much of a difference between the rested and unrested doughs! That makes this recipe even easier because you can make the dough, shape it, and bake it right away! The Pizza Scima cooks for about 40-45 minutes all told, so, even with prep time, you can have bread in under an hour! That really is amazing (and convenient).

How to serve Pizza Scima

Traditionally, Pizza Scima was prepared as a stand-in for regular bread at the table, making it a fabulous accompaniment to your main meal of the day. That said, you can serve Pizza Scima with just about anything.

Here are some ideas: serve it with grilled meats or vegetables, roasts, soups, cured meats, cheese, frittatas, broccoli rabe, sausages, olives, and Abruzzese arrosticini (lamb cubes on skewers). When I tried it out the first time, I served it to guests for an aperitivo (cocktail hour) with Spritzes, cheese, and cured meats. (We ate the whole thing in one night!) From an American perspective, I can tell you this it goes extraordinarily well with eggs in the morning. It’s heavenly actually! Honestly, Pizza Scima can accompany any meal. For children, it makes a fabulous snack to take to school. This flatbread is so tasty, with the salt on top and olive oil flavor that it’s absolutely satisfying on its own.

Pizza Scima is pretty too!

One characteristic of the bread is the cross-hatch or diamond pattern on top. Before baking, you score the top into a diamond or square pattern which will help you to serve it after baking. Normally you don’t slice this bread but break it off along the pre-scored lines. It’s fun. From what I have read, Pizza Scima isn’t really a sandwich bread that you cut in half and fill. Due to the lack of yeast, you cannot form too tall of a flatbread. You need to remember that it won’t rise and if you make it too tall it will not come out well. At a maximum, you want the bread to be only 2 cm or 3/4 inches tall. I usually go for a height of about 1 1/2- to 2 cm.

Final Notes

The recipe that I’m sharing is an adaptation of a recipe from an Italian YouTuber. Guarda Che Roba is the name of the channel. You can find the link to his video here. I have tweaked the process a bit and added some personal touches.

Also, I have kept the recipe in its original metric measurements because it’s simpler. With a cheap scale, you can work in either the metric system or in American pounds or ounces. Simply click on the gram setting on your scale. It’s easy and there is no need to change to ounces or convert anything. Even though I’m American, I find the metric system works better for me. My nonmathematical brain can somehow memorize recipes more readily this way.

Lastly, if you are interested in other recipes from Abruzzo, take a look at my recipe for Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Tiny Meatballs and Sagne e Ceci. In addition, my recipe for Pizza Ebraica is one of my most popular posts. It is a very particular cookie from Rome and is a part of the Jewish Italian culinary repertoire. Like Pizza Scima, the cookies are very tender inside and really crunchy outside. Yum. If the picture of the zucchini and tomato soup from above tempts you, click here for my recipe.

Enjoy the recipe for Pizza Scima and please let me know if you prepare it. I’d love to hear your feedback.

Pizza Scima (Abruzzese Unleavened Flatbread)

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Serves: 6-8 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 40-45 40-45

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.5/5

( 2 voted )

Ingredients

• 500 grams flour
• 13 grams fine sea salt
• 250 ml dry white wine, preferably Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
• 100 grams extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle top
• coarse sea salt, as needed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F). (It can be the convection oven or not, I have used both settings with good results.)
2. Place the flour in a large bowl and mix in the salt. Form a well in the center and add the olive oil and white wine. Mix until the mixture comes together. Knead briefly and gently until the dough is homogenous. This should only take a few minutes. You should have a soft dough that is not sticky. 
3. Form the dough into a round on a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment on top and roll the dough out into a circle that is 1 1/2-2 cm (about 3/4 inches) thick. Next, remove the top parchment and score the top lightly with a paring knife in a cross-hatch or diamond pattern about 2 cm (1 inch) apart. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top and either use a pastry brush or your hands to distribute the oil well, making sure that it gets into the crevices. Sprinkle the top of the Pizza Scima with coarse sea salt. Without separating the dough from the parchment beneath, place both onto a baking sheet.
4. Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. After the time has passed, switch the Pizza Scima to the top shelf so that it cooks evenly. Remove it from the oven when it's golden on the top and bottom. That should take an additional 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. Check on it regularly to make sure that it doesn't get too dark.
5. Once it comes out of the oven, you can drizzle it with more olive oil which adds a nice shine and more flavor. Serve it warm or let it cool on a rack to serve at room temperature.

Notes

If you wish, you may drizzle some olive oil on the bottom sheet of parchment paper if you want to make it extra crispy and flavorful on the top and bottom.