Summer is here and with it sunshine and good weather seem to be a constant. Whether you want to go to the sea, to the mountains or visit some city of art, bringing something good from home could be the perfect solution. Here it is that Umbria comes to our help with its typical dish, torta al testo, counted among the Traditional Food Products (PAT) of the region.
The torta al testo (name used in Perugia, in the area around Lake Trasimeno and further south), also known as torta bianca, pizza under fire (in Terni), torta del panaro, ciaccia (in Città di Castello) or crescia (in Gubbio), is a similar low focaccia typical of Umbrian cuisine. It was born as a food of the poor and became a street food, a detail that somehow refers to its origins along the Byzantine corridor. This connected Ravenna (seat of secular power) to Rome (seat of temporal power), dividing Umbria into three parts: at the extreme east and west there were two Lombard duchies, namely to the west the Duchy of Tuscia (west of Città della Pieve-Chiusi) and to the east the Duchy of Spoleto (east of Assisi, Foligno, Spoleto, etc. . .), with the strip of earth under the Byzantine control (the "corridor") that crossed the Umbria from north to south passing precisely for Gubbio and Città di Castello, Perugia and the Trasimeno Lake, Marsciano and Todi. It is to the Byzantines that is owed the introduction on the Italian territory of specialties that remind the Greek pita and the yufka (the typical Turkish bread in which is served the dürüm kebab), of which the torta al testo can be considered a close relative (with a direct descent from unleavened bread).
Despite its diffusion is due to the Byzantines, the name derives from the traditional Roman disc on which it is baked. In ancient Rome, the testum was just the terracotta tile that was placed on the burning embers allowing the baking of buns and the like, a technique that seems to have been used especially by soldiers, who often had to prepare their meals quickly and with makeshift means. Originally it was made at home by carving large refractory stones, or by shaping a mixture of clay and very fine gravel, but in modern times it is possible to buy it in cast iron or cement. Even the name betrays the very ancient origin of this regional version of unleavened bread, which in the past, was prepared as a substitute of the real bread, on the occasion of harvesting or grape harvest or even on the occasion of the killing of the pig, when after a hard work many people had to be fed.
The best cooking is obtained by completely covering the torta al testo with ashes. There were two variants: the wheat one, more popular, and the corn one, used by the wealthy families after the importation of this cereal from America. After cooking, the torta al testo was traditionally divided into square slices, which in Perugia were six and called particles and then eaten as it was, without fillings, or with a bit of cheese or vegetables.
Without further ado, I present the original recipe of the traditional Umbrian torta al testo, the essential one, net of the many domestic variants that have been handed down from generation to generation.


DETAILS
- Difficulty: easy
- Preparation time: 1h
- Doses: 4/6 people (2 torte)
- Cost: low


INGREDIENTS
- 500g of 0 flour
- 250ml of sparkling water
- 25ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 15g of baking soda
- 10g of salt


Tools used:
- Food scale: [ Ссылка ]
- Precision food scale: [ Ссылка ]
- Graduated cylinder: [ Ссылка ]
- Bowls of various sizes: [ Ссылка ]
- 225ml oil dispenser: [ Ссылка ]
- Wooden rolling pin (60cm): [ Ссылка ]
- Kitchen robot Kenwood chef: [ Ссылка ]
- Spatulas set: [ Ссылка ]
- Spatula for pizza: [ Ссылка ]
- Spatula for cutting: [ Ссылка ]
- Testo for cake or Umbrian crescia (diameter 32.5cm): [ Ссылка ]


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Chapters:
- 00:00 | Intro
- 00:15 | Recipe
- 00:25 | Details
- 00:38 | Ingredients and preparation
- 03:40 | Final product
- 03:52 | Ending (Subscribe and Watch Next)

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