Le schiacciate

When the massaie (farmer's wives) made bread, they always put aside some of the dough to make some schiacciate cakes (flat cakes) to pop in the oven when the bread was half-baked. They were very simple, made only with dough and ciccioli, lo strutto (pork fats), or raisins, depending on the season. When the oven was being used regularly it stayed pretty hot and could be used to dry fruit. They would dry slices of apple "le pacchine", plums, grapes, figs or whatever was available in that season.