Pissaladière | Provençal Onion Flatbread

Pissaladière is a classic onion and anchovy flatbread from the Provence region of France. The flatbread is a little thicker than Neapolitan pizza, and is often shaped into a large rectangle before baking. 

The flavor contrast among the sweet almost caramelized onions and savory umami of the anchovies and olives created multi-dimensional deliciousness. 

One of my very favorite vacations I've ever taken was a trip to Provence and visiting the markets Provence every day. The markets would travel from town to town every  day of the week. Mondays were Cadenet, Tuesdays were in La Tour D'Aigues, Wednesdays were in Saint-Rémy, Thursdays were in Aix-en-Provence Fridays were in Bonnieux (the smallest of the markets), Saturdays were in Apt, and Sundays were in L'Islle-sur-la-Sorgue (my favorite). This was about 20 years ago... 

My dad had rented a fabulous house in the middle of lavender fields and cherry trees in the town of Bonnieux and invited all of us to visit him there and stay a week. Visiting all of the markets and driving to the towns throughout the region was our goal. 

This flatbread reminds me of that trip and and my dad's culinary sensibilities. In fact, the first time I made this flatbread at home I broke out the Provençal linens I bought on that trip to pique my memories. 

Ingredients in Pissaladière:

For the Dough: Bread flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, water, and olive oil. 

For the Topping: Sweet onions, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, olives, and anchovies. 

Anchovies you ask? Yes! Give them a chance! They are the secret ingredient in Worcestershire Sauce, and not-so-secret ingredient in Vietnamese fish sauce. They have a briny flavor that helps bring out other flavors in your dish. In this flatbread, the anchovy flavor blends in well. You will need about 4 ounces of canned small anchovies packed in olive oil. 

If you'd like more anchovy flavor, you can also thinly spread anchovy paste on top of the dough prior to topping it with the onions.

If you have any leftovers, you can make some egg, tapenade, and anchovy toasts for appetizers, add them to the sauce for braised spare ribs as a secret ingredient, or make a Sfincione Bagherese, a thick crust pizza from Palermo, Sicily, thought to be the precursor for American Sicilian-style pizzas. You can also use anchovies for a wonderful Salade Niçoise. 

The onions take about 30 to 45 minutes to cook in order to reach that "in between" stage from just softened to fully caramelized. The onions should be some where between light golden and golden brown depending on your preference. 

For the olives, if you can find Niçoise olives, definitely use them. You can also substitute Kalamata olives, which are very similar in flavor and easier to find. 

Tips for Making This Pissaladière:

You will need to plan for making a pâte fermentée, which is simply a bit of stiff dough that will need 12 to 16 hours to rest and develop flavor. You can mix it the evening before the day you make the pissaladière. 

You can also make the onion mixture in advance and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. Be sure to bring it to room temperature before topping the dough. 

You can bake this flatbread on a hot baking stone. You can either slide it directly onto the stone or shape the flatbread in a half sheet pan and place the sheet pan on the hot stone. I've done it both ways and coudn't really tell the difference (although I'm sure there are purists who can tell). 

Recipe Variations: 

As a variation, you could also make this into a tart using a pie crust recipe to line a tart pan and filling it with the onions and topping with the anchovies and olives. 

Another option is to roll out some puff pastry and top it with the onions, anchovies, and olives. Cut it into small squares for appetizers. 

Keep leftovers wrapped in foil in the refrigerator. They are great reheated in a 350 degree F oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. The bottom of the crust re-crisps nicely!

Sunday Funday: Seafood!

This week, the Sunday Funday group is sharing recipes featuring seafood:

• Baked Salmon Potato Croquettes from Food Lust People Love
• Fried Prawn Masala from Sneha’s Recipe
• Pissaladière from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Shrimp Dip from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Pissaladiere

Yield: 10

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 1 H & 10 MCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 14 HourTotal time: 15 H & 30 M

Pissaladiere is a classic onion and anchovy flatbread from the Provence region of France. The flatbread is a little thicker than Neapolitan pizza, and is often shaped into a large rectangle before baking. 

Ingredients

For the Pàte Fermentèe (a preferment that is made the day before to develop flavor)

• 105 grams / 3.7 ounces bread flour
• 57 grams / 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• A pinch of yeast

For the Final Dough

• 210 grams / 7.4 ounces bread flour
• 53 grams / 1.85 ounces whole wheat flour
• 170 grams / 6 ounces water
• 8.5 grams/ .3 ounces salt
• 1.42 grams / .05 ounces instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• All of the Pâte Fementèe

For the Topping

• 3 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 ounces good quality anchovies, rinsed and split into thin strips
• 3 ounces pitted olives, split in half lengthwise (about 12 olives)

Instructions

To Make the Pâte Fermentèe

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl by hand until just incorporated.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12 to 16 hours at room temperature.

To Make the Final Dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix all of the dough ingredients except the olive oil and the pate fermentee on low for three minutes. Add the pate fermentee in chunks.
2. Turn the mixer to the next highest speed, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Mix for 6 minutes.
3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl or bucket and allow to rise for about 2 hours, folding the dough at the one hour mark.
4. Preheat the oven with a stone on the center rack to the highest temperature available. In my case, this was 550 degrees F.
5. Form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for about 20 minutes.
6. Stretch or roll the dough into a 12 by 16 inch rectangle. This may take some time as the dough might need some time to relax. Transfer the dough to parchment paper on top of a peel or the back of a cookie sheet. You can also spread the dough out to fit a rimmed baking sheet.
7. Top the dough with the cooled onion mixture. Place the anchovies into lattice pattern, and place the olives in the middle of the squares.
8. Let the Pissaladière rest, covered, for about 20 minutes.
9. Drag the flatbread, parchment and all, onto the stone and bake for about 20 minutes, until browned. Alternatively, bake it in the half sheet pan on top of the baking stone (or placed directly on the middle rack if you don't have a baking stone).
10. Transfer the pissaladiere to a cutting board and, using a pizza wheel, cut into squares.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

249

Fat (grams)

9 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

1 g

Carbs (grams)

36 g

Fiber (grams)

3 g

Net carbs

34 g

Sugar (grams)

5 g

Protein (grams)

7 g

Cholesterol (grams)

3 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2013/08/pissaladiere-provencal-onion-pizza-for.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

pissaladiere, anchovies

Flatbread, bread

French

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Created using The Recipes Generator

Recipe inspired by Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman, 3rd Edition, (first edition waspublished in 2004 and became and instant classic). It won the Julia Child Award for best first book.