Very high, very soft, very tasty: Andrea‘s rustic focaccia is a superlative recipe for those who love bread in its tastiest version.
Flour, water, salt and yeast: just four basic ingredients for one of the most eclectic bread products.
The focaccia (from the Latin focus “hearth”) is like a blank canvas to be colored, enriched, transformed, simply following one’s creativity, based on the territory or the seasons.
From Genoa to Bari, each with its own recognizable characteristics, the high or low, soft or compact focaccia varies from one region to another, telling the story of Italy and its peculiarities.
Andrea’s rustic version is filled with simple and tasty ingredients, it is soft, it is eaten hot, it is shared. Freshly baked, it is very fragrant, colorful and very high: a cloud of flavor that invites you to more than one taste.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- Medium strength stone ground flour 500 g
- Water 325 g
- Brewer’s yeast 10 g
- Salt 10 g
- Malt (optional) 2.5 g
For the filling
- Cherry tomatoes, Taggiasca olives, fresh oregano and capers
- Gorgonzola, sage, red onion, balsamic vinegar
- Sausage, rocket and fresh ricotta
Method
Quickly mix the flour, water and malt in a bowl until all the ingredients are blended. Cover with a cloth and leave the dough in the oven with only the light on for 30 minutes. Add the salt and the yeast dissolved in a little water, continuing to knead until the salt has also dissolved. Let it rest for a couple more minutes, turn it onto the pastry board and work it until it forms a perfectly smooth loaf.
Place the dough in a well-oiled container, cover and let it rest possibly at a temperature of 20/28 degrees for an hour or until the dough has almost doubled in size.
Transfer the dough to the work surface, break it in two, flatten it slightly with your hands and shape it into a loaf. Let it rest for 20/30 minutes, place it in the previously oiled pans, sprinkle it with a drizzle of oil and spread it by pressing with your fingertips and forming grooves, trying to cover the entire surface.
Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before adding the toppings (cherry tomatoes, olives, red onion, etc.), letting them penetrate the dough with the push of your fingers.
Let it rest for 50 minutes or until the focaccia has almost doubled in volume.
Preheat the static oven to 300 degrees (without ventilation), place the pans on the refractory stone and cook at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.
Once cooked, take the focaccias out of the oven, remove them with a spatula, place them on a grill and make sure that the lower part is cooked and crispy: if not, bake for another 5/10 minutes, leave to cool on a rack and enjoy your creations.
