Coca de vidre, crispy Catalan flatbread

Ingredients

• 500 g of strong flour
• 75 ml of lukewarm milk
• 50 g of bacon or butter
• 4 tablespoons of sugar for coating
• 1 packet of baker’s yeast
• One glass of anise liqueur
• 1 handful of pine nuts (or blanched almonds, or almond slivers)
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar for the dough
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Create a well by mixing the flour, and in the center, add the salt, sugar, yeast dissolved in milk, lard, oil, and two fingers of anise liqueur. Mix, bringing the flour back to the center, then knead until the dough is smooth and does not tear when stretched. Let it rise for about 1 hour.

Divide the dough into four parts, knead each part, form into balls, and let them rise for another quarter of an hour.

Stretch each sausage-shaped ball and then flatten it very thinly: traditional coca is narrow (no more than 15 cm) and long (at least two lengths). Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Let it rest for 10 minutes, then cover it completely with powdered sugar (not too fine) and press down firmly with your hands to ensure the sugar and nuts adhere well.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 225 °C, until golden brown.

As soon as the mixture comes out of the oven, drizzle each coca with anise liqueur until the sugar is thoroughly moistened. As it cools, the sugar and anise harden into a brittle, crackling glaze.