Inspired by an Umbrian bread, this on onion pizza is soft with crisp edges and thin sweet onions on top.
The Festa della Cipolla di Cannara (Canara Onion Festival) takes place in September Umbria and unfortunately we missed it this year. There are a number of Tavernas or pop up restaurants scattered across the town during this festival serving everything onion. Almost every dish contains onions of some sort from appetizers to desserts. I have attended this festival many times and one item almost everyone orders is the onion focaccia. This festival has grown over the years and these days it is one of Umbria’s largest food festivals attended by thousands of folks over two weekends in September.
I simply couldn’t get this delicious flatbread, or pizza as they called it, off my mind until I made it myself at home. The onions from Cannara are famous across Italy and are squatty yellow ones with a delicious flavor that becomes sweet when cooked. This bread is great baked crisp, and the onions should be cut paper thin for the topping. I simply used a mandoline to cut my onions and then tossed them with olive oil, salt and lots of cracked pepper before arranging them on my pizza dough. Obviously unless you are in Italy Cannara onions may be a bit hard to find, but any yellow, sweet onion will work fine.
Umbrian Cannara Onion Pizza
- Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 Pkg. Active Dry Yeast
- 1 1/2 to 2 Cups Warm Water
- 4– 5 Cups All-purpose (Unbleached Flour)
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Rosemary
- Coarse Salt
TOPPING:
- 4 Medium Onions (Peeled & Thinly Sliced)
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil Plus Extra For Drizzling
- Cracked Black Pepper
- Coarse Sea Salt
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water, and let sit 10 minutes until bubbly.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, teaspoons of salt, olive oil, rosemary, yeast mixture and remaining water.
- Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon and then your hands.
- Transfer to a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few minutes or until smooth.
- Place in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
- In a medium sized bowl, toss the onions with the olive oil and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Punch down dough and place on a 13 X 9 inch oiled baking sheet, forming into an oval or rectangle.
- Dimple the top surface with your finger tips, and then evenly spread the onions across the top, and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the sea salt.
- Bake about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
