Easter Tuscan schiacciata

Step 1

Starter. Dissolve the brewer's yeast into 150 ml of lukewarm milk, then gradually add the flour, about 300 g. The dough will be quite sticky, but knead it into a ball, dust with some flour and let it rest in a warm place for about two hours, until it begins to rise.

Step 2

First rising. Add to the starter 3 eggs, 150 g of raw cane sugar, 40 g of olive oil and about 400 g of flour, knead and let it rest in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until doubled in volume.

Step 3

Second rising. Add 2 eggs, 150 g sugar, 40 g of olive oil, about 400 g of flour, 25 ml of mint rosolio, 25 ml of maraschino liqueur and the juice of half an orange. Let rest for at least 3 hours, until doubled in volume.

Step 4

Third rising. Add 2 eggs, 150 g sugar, 30 g of olive oil, about 400 g of flour, 50 g of melted butter, the aniseed, 25 ml of mint rosolio and 25 ml of maraschino liqueur. Knead and let it rest for at least 3 hours, until doubled in volume.

Step 5

Fourth rising. Once the volume has doubled again, knead again the dough for a while and divide it into 3 equal parts (I got 1 kg, 1 kg and 750 g), then put them into 3 moulds suitable to bake them in the oven. Put them in a warm place to rise for at least 4 to 5 hours, until doubled in volume.

Step 6

Preheat oven to 180°C and when the schiacciate are ready brush the surface with the beaten egg white to polish them, then bake them for about 45 to 50 minutes, until they are perfectly cooked and dark brown on top.

Step 7

Let them rest for some time in the oven, then let them cool completely before serving them.

Step 8

The schiacciata will keep well for a week if wrapped in plastic.