Socca

Whisk the batter. Whisk the chickpea flour into the 500 ml cold water until smooth, then whisk in 35 g olive oil and the 5 g salt; pass through a fine sieve if any lumps remain. Use mixing bowl, whisk, fine sieve. Allow 10 minutes. The batter is fluid, smooth and free of visible dry flour or lumps. A smooth thin batter spreads rapidly in the hot pan. Wipe spilled batter promptly so the floor and worktop do not become slippery.

Rest the batter. Cover and rest the batter at room temperature so the chickpea flour hydrates fully. Use covered bowl. Allow 120 minutes passive rest. The batter remains fluid but looks slightly more cohesive after the two-hour rest. The documented rest hydrates the chickpea flour before the very short bake. If the room is unusually hot, rest in a cooler area rather than near the oven.

Preheat the pan fiercely. Set a 40 cm heavy metal socca pan or oven-safe round tray under a very hot 275 °C oven/grill environment and heat it empty before adding oil. Use 40 cm heavy metal pan, oven gloves. Allow 15 minutes. The pan is thoroughly heat-saturated before the first measured layer of batter is poured. A fiercely hot surface is essential for blistering and crisp edges. The pan and handles are extremely hot; use dry heavy oven gloves and clear the work area.

Bake two thin layers. For each bake, add half of the remaining 25 g olive oil to the hot pan, pour in half the batter and tilt immediately to a layer about 3 mm thick. Bake, then repeat with the remaining batter and oil. Use hot 40 cm pan, ladle, oven gloves. Keep to 275 °C oven/grill. Allow 10 minutes total (two bakes of 5 minutes). Each socca is set through the centre, blistered on top and crisp around browned edges. Two thin batches reproduce the defining thin profile better than one thick layer in a domestic pan. Keep hands and face away from the hot oil and rising steam; never set the hot pan on an unprotected surface.