Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gstrong white flour
- 400 mlwater
- 10 ginstant yeast
- 10 gsalt
- 40 mlextra virgin olive oil
Brine
- 50 mlwater
- 50 mlolive oil
- 1 tspfine salt
To finish
- coarse sea salt
- rosemary, optional
Directions
- Mix the flour, yeast and salt, then add the water and the oil and mix to a very wet, sticky dough.
- Do not add flour to make it manageable. Eighty per cent hydration is what gives focaccia its open custardy crumb, and a dough you can knead comfortably will bake dense.
- Instead of kneading, do four sets of stretch-and-folds in the bowl at 30-minute intervals, with wet hands.
- Cover and prove until doubled, about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight for better flavour.
- Oil a shallow tin generously and tip the dough into it, then gently stretch it towards the corners without knocking the air out.
- If it springs back, leave it 15 minutes and try again rather than forcing it.
- Prove in the tin for a further hour, until visibly puffy.
- Whisk the brine ingredients together into a cloudy emulsion.
- Now dimple it. Oil your fingers and press straight down through the dough to the bottom of the tin, all over, spacing the dimples about 3 cm apart.
- Press all the way through to the base. Timid dimples close up in the oven, and the deep wells are what hold the brine and give the finished bread its texture.
- Pour the brine over so that it pools in the dimples, and scatter with coarse salt and rosemary.
- Bake at 230°C (445°F) for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden and crisp underneath.
- Lift it out of the tin onto a rack immediately, so the base does not steam itself soft.
- Eat it warm. Its name comes from the Latin panis focacius, bread baked in the hearth ashes.
Technique
- The brine looks like far too much liquid and is exactly right. It is absorbed during the bake and it is what seasons the crumb.
- A dark metal tin gives a better base than glass or ceramic.
- Ligurian focaccia is thinner and saltier than the thick focaccias of the south, and both are correct in their own places.
Substitutions
- Plain flour, which gives a slightly less chewy crumb.
- A cast iron pan for a smaller, thicker focaccia with an excellent base.
Variations
- Focaccia di Recco, filled with soft cheese between two paper-thin sheets, which is a different thing entirely.
- With olives, cherry tomatoes or thinly sliced onion pressed into the dimples.
- Sweet, with grapes and sugar, as schiacciata all’uva.
History
Its name comes from Latin panis focacius, bread baked in the hearth ashes; the Ligurian version is dimpled and brined with olive oil.
Frequently asked questions
What is Focaccia?
Focaccia is a bread & pastry from Italy: olive-oil dimpled flatbread, Ligurian classic. Its name comes from Latin panis focacius, bread baked in the hearth ashes; the Ligurian version is dimpled and brined with olive oil.
How long does Focaccia take to make?
Focaccia takes 20 min plus 3 hr rising of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 tray. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Focaccia?
Yes, within limits. Plain flour, which gives a slightly less chewy crumb. A cast iron pan for a smaller, thicker focaccia with an excellent base.
What is the most important thing to get right in Focaccia?
Do not add flour to make it manageable. Eighty per cent hydration is what gives focaccia its open custardy crumb, and a dough you can knead comfortably will bake dense.
