Italian Farinata Chickpea Flatbread (La Cecina Toscana)
Updated May 12, 2024, Published Aug 12, 2020
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Italian Farinata Flatbread aka La Cecina Toscana is the most incredible chickpea flatbread made with just 3 basic ingredients. It’s crispy and delicious on the outside with the most delicious creamy middle.
La Farinata also known as La Cecina or Torta di Ceci in Tuscany, is an Italian snack that’s super nostalgic to me.
When we first moved to Italy we kept seeing signs in bakery windows for La Cecina Toscana and to be honest it didn’t look like much, a thin golden yellow flatbread sold by the slice.
In Livorno, it’s often served in a sandwich called cinque e cinque with eggplant marinated in garlic and chilli – so delicious!
Once we tried it, however, it instantly became our favourite snack, crispy on top, sprinkled with salt and sometimes rosemary with a slightly creamy middle.
Omg, it’s so good and making it at home is super easy you just need to follow a few simple tips to get it perfect!
Ingredients – what you need
All you need to make La Farinata is; chickpea flour, water, olive oil and salt! It may seem too simple to be anything special but trust me it truly is. See the photo below that shows all the ingredients you need!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItHow to make this recipe – step by step
Sift the flour into a bowl, chickpea flour has a very chalky texture so this helps remove lumps (photo 1).
Whisk together the chickpea flour, salt and water (add the water gradually to avoid any lumps) when the batter is nice and smooth add the olive oil and stir together (photos 2-4).
Leave the batter to rest for 2 hours.
Pour the flatbread batter into a well oiled, thin pizza tray or baking tray no more than 0.5mm thick (photos 5 & 6).
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until it’s nice and golden on top.
Sprinkle over some coarse salt and some rosemary sprigs (optional) followed by a drizzle of olive oil. Cut into slices and serve hot.
Top tips and recipe FAQs
- Grease the pan – Make sure your tray or skillet (even if it’s non-stick) is well oiled. I use around 1 tbsp of olive oil, that way it doesn’t stick to the tray and it can be removed easily.
- baking the flatbread – You can use any shape pan or baking tray you just need to make sure that the batter is 5mm 1/4 inch thick. If using a baking tray make sure that it isn’t too thin or has any ridges. Thin baking trays buckle with the heat of the oven and ridges will give an uneven flatbread.
- Variations – you can add herbs such as rosemary to the batter to infuse or even add in veggies that need using up.
- Serving – La Farinata is always best served hot straight from the oven. You can simply eat it by the slice or serve it inside a roll or focaccia.
- Batter – The batter is very liquidy it shouldn’t be thick at all.
It’s likely that foam will form on top of the batter as you whisk in the water, if you prefer, you can skim it off with a spoon but it’s not essential and doesn’t affect the flavour.
A good sign that it’s ready is when the flatbread comes away from the edge or the skillet or baking tray. It should be golden brown on top.
la farinata is a cross between the two it’s crispy but creamy in the middle. You can eat it like a slice of pizza or stuff it inside a sandwich.
Leftovers can be stored in a sealed air-tight container for 2-3 days.
More tasty Italian snacks you might like
- La Piadina – Italian flatbread
- 5 Minute Marinated Olives
- Crispy Fried Sage Leaves with Anchovies
- Bruschetta al Pomodoro
If you’ve tried La Farinata (Cecina) Flatbread or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
This post was first published on August 3rd 2017 but has since been updated.
Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!
Italian Farinata Chickpea Flatbread (La Cecina Toscana)
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpea flour (besan or gram flour), (250g)
- 3 cups water, (665ml)
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes or kosher salt
For topping
- coarse salt
- olive oil
Instructions
- Sift the chickpea flour into a large bowl then add a pinch of salt (about 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes).
- Gradually add in the water whislt whisking to avoid any lumps (there may be an odd few). Add olive oil and stir.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 2 hours (no need to refridgerate.)
- Once rested pre-heat the oven to 450F/230C.
- Oil an oven safe skillet, pizza pan or baking tray with olive oil (about 1 tbsp should be enough). I used a 10 inch round pan (there's enough batter to make two this size).
- Pour the batter into the skillet until 0.5cm or 1/4 inch thick (it shouldn't be any higher) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden on top and crispy around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing to a cutting board. Sprinkle with a little pinch of sea salt flakes and cut into slices. Eat while hot!
Notes
- Grease the pan – Make sure your tray or skillet (even if it’s non-stick) is well oiled. I use around 1 tbsp of olive oil, that way it doesn’t stick to the tray and it can be removed easily.
- baking the flatbread – You can use any shape pan or baking tray you just need to make sure that the batter is 5mm 1/4 inch thick. If using a baking tray make sure that it isn’t too thin or has any ridges. Thin baking trays buckle with the heat of the oven and ridges will give an uneven flatbread.
- Variations – you can add herbs such as rosemary to the batter to infuse or even add in veggies that need using up.
- Serving – La Farinata is always best served hot straight from the oven. You can simply eat it by the slice or serve it inside a roll or focaccia.
- Batter – The batter is very liquidy it shouldn’t be thick at all.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What temp do you bake it?
450F or 230C.
Hi, do you stir again before putting in the pan? The oil is still on top,
Thank you!
Hi Joanna, yes give it a stir before adding to the pan it’ll help any flour that has settled at the bottom of the bowl too!
I made this, added roasted tomatoes & olives and cheese and cut it into softball sized circles, I added the Rosemary and sea salt, vacuum sealed them for my grandson and he loved them. We put them in the airfryer to warm for him, I may experiment with them a little more. Healthy nutritious meal.
This recipe is one that I will use A LOT. . Easy and delicious. It is so flavorful , it’s hard to believe that it is made with such simple ingredients. Thank you . I loved it with a little sprinkle of course salt and also with a teeny bit of pesto. Delicious!
It’s in the over now and smells amazing!! I tried it for the first time in a Lucca last year. I have been going to Italy for well over 10 years and I can’t believe that was the first time seeing it. Can’t wait to try my own!! Thanks for the recipe! I’ll let you know after the taste test!
Hi Bernice, hope you enjoyed the recipe I made it yesterday too! Lucca is such a beautiful place I’ve been there so many times, Nathan’s family stay there every summer!
Love it!! Making it again tonight! Yummy xxx
So happy you love it! You wouldn’t believe you could make something so delicious with such simple ingredients!
Hi, I’m excited to try this recipe, I have a round pizza pan but it has holes in it, can i put parchment paper over top? Will it cook the same?
Hi Melissa, the batter is quite watery so I’d maybe try aluminum foil all over to secure it first then parchment paper.
Good morning. A Pizza tray is one piece of kitchen equipment I do not have. What would you suggest I use instead? Any feedback would be sincerely appreciated. thank you.
Hi Linda, any flat baking sheet is fine as long as the batter is around 3mm or 1/8inch deep.
Hi, am about to make this recipe, but noticed the recipe says 5mm and 1/4” thick, but in the comments it says 3mm and 1/8” thick. Which is the preferred size? Thank you!
Hi Laurel, most of time I make mine around 5mm thick (either will work just fine). Enjoy!
How liquidy??? Like a cream soup? Putting in fridge now.
Hi Tania, yes the batter is very liquidy much like soup.
Thank you for your speedy reply. I’ll let you know how it goes.
What size pizza pan did you use? They come in 14, 12, 8 inch pans. Thank you.
The Farinata di Ceci is an amazing snack, especially when it’s inside a focaccia. I’m from Tuscany and I really appreciate you sharing the recipe on your website. Just two things: it’s better to use 1 part chickpeas flour and 3 parts of water and a tiny bit more oil (3/3,5 tbsp) and to be fair it’s better for it to be Extravirgin Olive oil since it’s tastier.
The second thing it’s the resting time should be from 3 to 6 hours (room temperature), but could be up to 10 (in the fridge), but again it’s because it makes it tastier!
By the way thank you for sharing and I wish you the best!
I recently ate these delicious breads whilst in Lucca. I have to replicate them. Something that will live with forever, maybe because I was in Tuscany sitting in a little back street, eating the cecina off a paper plate straight from the wood fired oven. But I have never eaten something so memorable and vegan (thank goodness).
Hi Anya, Lucca is one of my favourite places in Tuscany, our family stay there every summer. It’s so beautiful, cycling around the walls is one of my favourite things to do. You should definitely try this recipe, the most important things are to let the batter rest for at least 2 hours and make sure you use a large enough tray so it’s very thin (no more than 5mm). Have your oven up to the highest temp and eat it straight away while still hot but not too hot ha! Hope you get to go back soon!
I’ve never actually heard of chickpea flatbread, but it sounds like something I’d go totally crazy for!
Just a small correction, it should be either 0.5cm thick or 5mm thick. 0.5mm is barely a hair 🙂 thanks for the recipe!
These look so tasty and with such few ingredients! I’d love to try them out for lunch!