Pantortilla is a Cantabrian filled flatbread — a thin wheat dough topped with anchovies, red peppers, and tomatoes, baked until crisp. A coastal specialty from Santander.
Pantortilla is a Cantabrian specialty from Santander. It resembles a Catalan coca or Italian focaccia but is thinner and crispier. The topping of anchovies and roasted red peppers reflects the Cantabrian coast's fishing tradition (Santander's anchovies are among Spain's finest).
A thin, crisp flatbread topped with melted tomatoes, strips of sweet roasted pepper, and salty anchovies. Each bite combines bread's crunch with the anchovies' umami and the pepper's sweetness.
The thin dough bakes into a cracker-like base (no leavening, or very little). The anchovies' salt and oil permeate the dough during baking. The roasted peppers' natural sugars caramelize on the hot surface.
Variations
Some add tuna or hard-boiled egg; the dough thickness varies; served warm as a tapa.
On the Palate
Where Pantortilla sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 45 min active + 15 min waiting
- 130 min
Make a simple dough: flour, water, oil, salt; rest 30 min.
- 25 min
Roll very thin; place on a baking sheet.
Watch outRoll the dough as thin as you can — this base has no leavening, so thickness is the difference between a crisp cracker and a hard, doughy slab.
- 33 min
Spread crushed tomato over the top.
- 45 min
Arrange anchovy fillets and roasted red pepper strips.
- 51 min
Drizzle with olive oil.
- 615 min
Bake at 220°C for 15 min until crisp.
Watch outBake until the base is evenly crisp and the pepper edges catch a little color — pull it pale and the middle stays soft and bready.
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