Italian Farinata Chickpea Flatbread, La Cecina Toscana

Italian Farinata Flatbread aka La Cecina Toscana is the most good chickpea flatbread made with 3 basic ingredients. It's crispy and good on the outside with the most good creamy middle.

La Farinata also known as La Cecina or Torta di Ceci in Tuscany, is an Italian snack that's nostalgic to us.

When we first moved to Italy we kept seeing signs in bakery windows for La Cecina Toscana and to be honest it didn't look like much, a thin golden yellow flatbread sold by the slice.

In Livorno, it's often served in a sandwich called cinque e cinque with eggplant marinated in garlic and chilli – so good!

Once we tried it, however, it instantly became our favourite snack, crispy on top, sprinkled with salt and sometimes rosemary, with a slightly creamy middle (another favourite is Schiacciata di Patate made with potato and pecorino).

Omg, it's so good and making it at home is easy; you need to follow a few simple tips to get it solid!

Ingredients – what you need

All you need to make La Farinata is chickpea flour, water, olive oil and salt! It may seem too simple to be anything special but trust us it truly is. See the photo below that shows all the ingredients you need!

How to make this recipe – step by step

Sift the flour into a bowl, chickpea flour has a chalky texture so this helps remove lumps (photo 1).

Whisk together the chickpea flour, salt and water (add the water gradually to avoid any lumps) when the batter is nice and smooth add the olive oil and stir together (photos 2-4).

Leave the batter to rest for 2 hours.

Pour the flatbread batter into a well oiled, thin pizza tray or baking tray no more than 0.5mm thick (photos 5 & 6).

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until it's nice and golden on top.

Sprinkle over some coarse salt and some rosemary sprigs (optional) followed by a drizzle of olive oil. Cut into slices and serve hot.

Top tips and recipe FAQs

• Grease the pan – Make sure your tray or skillet (even if it's non-stick) is well oiled. We use around 1 tbsp of olive oil, that way it doesn't stick to the tray and it can be removed easily.
• baking the flatbread – You can use any shape pan or baking tray you need to make sure that the batter is 5mm 1/4 inch thick. If using a baking tray make sure that it isn't too thin or has any ridges. Thin baking trays buckle with the heat of the oven and ridges will give an uneven flatbread.
• Variations – you can add herbs such as rosemary to the batter to infuse or even add in veggies that need using up.
• Serving – La Farinata is always best served hot straight from the oven. You can eat it by the slice or serve it inside a roll or focaccia.
• Batter – The batter is liquidy it shouldn't be thick at all.

Do we need to remove the foam?

It's likely that foam will form on top of the batter as you whisk in the water, if you prefer, you can skim it off with a spoon but it's not essential and doesn't affect the flavour.

How do we know it's cooked?

A good sign that it's ready is when the flatbread comes away from the edge or the skillet or baking tray. It should be golden brown on top.

Is it a flatbread or pancake?

La farinata is a cross between the two it's crispy but creamy in the middle. You can eat it like a slice of pizza or stuff it inside a sandwich.

How do we store leftovers?

Leftovers can be stored in a sealed air-tight container for 2-3 days.

More tasty Italian snacks you might like

• La Piadina – Italian flatbread
• 5 Minute Marinated Olives
• Crispy Fried Sage Leaves with Anchovies
• Bruschetta al Pomodoro

This post was first published on August 3rd 2017 but has since been updated.

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings (2 flatbreads)

• 2 cups chickpea flour (besan or gram flour) ((250g))
• 3 cups water ((665ml))
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes or kosher salt

For topping

• coarse salt
• olive oil

Method

1. Sift the chickpea flour into a large bowl then add a pinch of salt (about 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes).

2. Gradually add in the water whislt whisking to avoid any lumps (there may be an odd few). Add olive oil and stir.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 2 hours (no need to refridgerate.)

4. Once rested pre-heat the oven to 450F/230C.

5. Oil an oven safe skillet, pizza pan or baking tray with olive oil (about 1 tbsp should be enough). We used a 10 inch round pan (there's enough batter to make two this size).

6. Pour the batter into the skillet until 0.5cm or 1/4 inch thick (it shouldn't be any higher) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden on top and crispy around the edges.

7. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing to a cutting board. Sprinkle with a little pinch of sea salt flakes and cut into slices. Eat while hot!

Kitchen notes

• Grease the pan Make sure your tray or skillet (even if it's non-stick) is well oiled. We use around 1 tbsp of olive oil, that way it doesn't stick to the tray and it can be removed easily.
• baking the flatbread You can use any shape pan or baking tray you need to make sure that the batter is 5mm 1/4 inch thick. If using a baking tray make sure that it isn't too thin or has any ridges. Thin baking trays buckle with the heat of the oven and ridges will give an uneven flatbread.
• Variations you can add herbs such as rosemary to the batter to infuse or even add in veggies that need using up.
• Serving La Farinata is always best served hot straight from the oven. You can eat it by the slice or serve it inside a roll or focaccia.
• Batter The batter is liquidy it shouldn't be thick at all.