Welcome back to my little corner of the internet!
If there’s one food I can never have enough of, my comfort food, if you want to call it like that, it’s focaccia. Back in Italy, I would buy it at a baker’s or even get the stuffed version, which is just…hmmm.
These days, if I want a focaccia, I have to make it myself. That’s why I thought I’d share my recipe with you.
As a rule of thumb, the recipe is very similar to the dough you make for a pizza. Ready? Let’s go!
Ingredients:
500 g Flour
300 ml lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
20 g yeast
20 g extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of salt
For garnish:
Salt flake and Rosemary
Cherry tomatoes
Olives
Start by pouring the water into a bowl, add the yeast and mix in the sugar. Mix it well and wait until a foam forms on the water.
Now, in another bowl, mix the flour, salt, olive oil and yeast mixture. Work it with your hands until you get a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and put into the oven to avoid any exposure to drafts. The oven should not be turned on!
Leave to rest for about 2 hours. Now oil a baking tray and place the dough on top of it. To roll it out, just push it with your fingers to get the dimples you’ll see on the surface of your focaccia. Cover with the same towel again and let it rest for another hour in the oven.
* The longer you leave the dough to rest, the softer the focaccia will be. You can also leave it to rest for 1 hour and bake it after that, but the result won’t be the same 🙂
Now, press your fingertips on the surface to give the traditional dimples. Pour some salt flakes and a little olive oil on the surface. If you would like to, you can also add some olives, cherry tomatoes cut in half or rosemary.
Bake for 40 minutes at 200º C (400º F). Serve warm.
If you would like to, cut the focaccia into squares and cut the squares in half, like a bread roll. You can fill them with ham and cheese!
Do you like focaccia? How do you like it? Let me know in the comments.
Love,
Raffi