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Leavened Products

Pane Azzimo (Unleavened Flatbread)

Traditional Pane Azzimo, the unleavened bread of the Jewish tradition, made with just two ingredients: flour and water. Crisp and versatile.
Recipe Pane Azzimo (Unleavened Flatbread)
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 15 minutes
  • Cooking 12 minutes
  • Servings for 4 flatbreads

Pane Azzimo, or unleavened bread, is one of the oldest and most symbolic preparations in the world’s culinary tradition. This bread made without yeast, whose name comes from the Greek ‘azymos’, meaning ‘without leaven’, has its roots in the thousands of years of human history and in Jewish culture. Made only with flour and water, with no salt or other ingredients added, unleavened bread was for a long time the only kind of bread known to early humans. Its religious importance is fundamental in the Jewish tradition, where it is eaten during Passover (Pesach) to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.

Legend has it that the Jews, in their haste to flee slavery, did not have time to let their bread rise and made these unleavened flatbreads. Today this crisp, neutral-tasting bread is appreciated not only for its spiritual meaning but also for its nutritional properties and its versatility in the kitchen. It comes as a thin, crisp sheet, perfect with both sweet and savory dishes, and is an excellent alternative for those with a yeast intolerance.

Ingredients for 4 flatbreads

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Method

  1. To make Pane Azzimo, start by pouring the flour into a large bowl and making a well in the center.
  2. Add the water a little at a time to the center of the well and start kneading with your hands, using firm, vigorous movements.
  3. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until smooth, even and elastic, with no lumps.
  4. Without letting the dough rest, roll it out right away into a rectangle and give it a letter fold, folding it in three.
  5. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and shape each piece into a round ball.
  6. Roll out each ball with a rolling pin into disks 2-3 mm (about 1/8 inch) thick and about 22 cm (9 inches) in diameter.
  7. Prick the whole surface of the disks with the tines of a fork so they do not puff up during baking.
  8. Place two disks at a time on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 180 °C (350 °F) in a conventional oven, on the bottom rack, for 12 minutes.
  9. Halfway through baking, turn the bread over and continue baking for another 6 minutes, until golden and crisp.
  10. Take the unleavened bread out of the oven and serve it warm, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil or with cured meats and cheeses.
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Variations and Alternatives

You can enrich the basic dough by adding 3 grams of salt and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to make it more flavorful. For a gluten-free version, use rice flour. After baking, the unleavened bread can be topped with a mixture of chopped parsley, garlic and oil.

Tips

For a softer unleavened bread, you can add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the dough. If you prefer to use whole wheat flour, use 400 grams with 200 ml of water. The bread can also be cooked in a nonstick pan for a puffier result.

Storage

Unleavened bread keeps at room temperature in a paper bag for about 1 week, in a dry place away from moisture.

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