Pizza scima, meaning silly pizza, hails from Abruzzo, the city of Casoli to be exact. This flatbread, akin to piadina romagnola and crescia marchigiana, contains no yeast and is credited to the area's 17th-century Jewish settlers.
The coppo
Pizza scima is cooked inside a coppo, a large ember-covered concave lid. Southeastern Umbria is known torta al testo, a leavened flatbread similar to pizza scima that's cooked over an open fire inside of a coal-covered refractory stone disc.
(ph credit Fabio Marinelli via Facebook)
The basics
Abruzzo has several types of pizza al coppo. Pizza scima (silly pizza), is made from soft wheat flour, extra virgin olive oil, water, and salt — some recipes call for white wine. It's unleavened, hence the "foolishness" implied by its name. Like the torta al testo, it resembles a griddled bread.
No fillings
Once the dough is ready to cook, diamond shapes are etched into the top, followed by a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil before it's placed directly on the base of the heated plate. It's topped with the coppo, which gets coated in embers, resulting in a fragrant pizza with a slightly crunchy crust. Unlike its northern cousins, pizza scima is not cut nor topped with ham, sausage, or squacquerone cheese. It's enjoyed on its own or as a substitute for bread during meals.
( ph Abruzzo Lab via Facebook)
Earthquakes, trabocchi and the Jewish community
On July 30, 1627, a disastrous earthquake shook central-southern Abruzzo. A subsequent tidal wave flowed several miles inland, wiping out entire ports and villages. Jewish communities then repopulated the area: the Verì, a family of skilled craftsmen, and the Annechini, who were weavers and funeral specialists. These two families built trabocchi, fishing huts that line parts of Abruzzo's coastline to this day. It's believed that the unleavened pizza scima is rooted in these families' Jewish cooking traditions.
When corn flour comes into play
Pizza al coppo also encompasses grandin, a pizza prepared with corn flour, which also happens to be the main ingredient for pizz e foje. The foje are wild herbs and greens like chicory, poppy shoots, borage, dandelion, turnip tops, chard, and chicory, boiled and pan-fried with oil and garlic. Dried sweet bell pepper, fried anchovies, or sardines may also be added.
Main picture: all credits to Castello Medievale di Roccascalegna via Facebook