Ftira

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gstrong white flour
• 100 gactive sourdough starter
• 320 mlwater
• 10 gsalt
• 2 tbspolive oil

Topping

• 4tomatoes, sliced
• 2potatoes, very thinly sliced
• 1onion, thinly sliced
• 200 gtinned tuna in oil, drained
• 2 tbspcapers
• 100 golives

To finish

• olive oil
• dried oregano
• salt

Directions

1. Mix the flour, starter and water and leave it for 30 minutes, then add the salt and oil and knead for 10 minutes.
2. Prove for 4 to 6 hours at room temperature with folds every hour, or overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Use a sourdough starter rather than yeast. The art of making Maltese ftira was inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2020, and the slow natural leaven is central to what was recognised.
4. Divide the dough into two and shape each piece into a round.
5. Press each round out flat with your fingertips, then push a hole through the centre and stretch it out into a ring.
6. The hole is the defining shape. Ftira is a flattened ring rather than a disc, and it bakes with a thin middle and a puffed rim.
7. Prove for 1 hour on a floured tray.
8. Press the potato slices, tomato, onion, tuna, capers and olives into the surface, pushing them down into the dough rather than laying them on top of it.
9. Push the toppings in. Sitting on the surface they slide off as it bakes; pressed in, they cook into the bread itself.
10. Drizzle generously with olive oil and scatter with oregano and salt.
11. Bake at 240°C (465°F) on a preheated stone for 15 to 18 minutes, until the rim is deep golden.
12. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.

Technique

• Ftira also refers to the plain ring loaf itself, which is split and filled as a sandwich. Both share the name.
• The thin potato slices go on raw and cook in the bake, which is why they must be genuinely thin.
• It was Malta’s first UNESCO intangible heritage listing, which says something about how seriously the bread is taken.

Substitutions

• Instant yeast, using 5 g and proving for 2 hours, which is quicker and loses the sourdough character.
• Anchovies in place of tuna.

Variations

• Ftira biż-żejt, the sandwich version, split and filled with the same ingredients.
• With Maltese sausage and peppers.
• Plain with just oil, tomato and oregano.

History

The art of making Maltese ftira was inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2020, the country’s first such listing.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ftira?

Ftira is a bread & pastry from Malta: flat sourdough ring topped with tuna, tomato, capers and olives. The art of making Maltese ftira was inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2020, the country’s first such listing.

How long does Ftira take to make?

Ftira takes 30 min plus 6 hr rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 ftira. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Ftira?

Yes, within limits. Instant yeast, using 5 g and proving for 2 hours, which is quicker and loses the sourdough character. Anchovies in place of tuna.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ftira?

Use a sourdough starter rather than yeast. The art of making Maltese ftira was inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2020, and the slow natural leaven is central to what was recognised.