Walk into any panificio in this country and you will find one of the country's most beloved bread products, focaccia, a wonderful, slightly oily flat bread which is surprisingly simple to make if you have a few simple ingredients and a little time.
Focaccia with Sage, Red Onions and Pink Peppercorns
(250 degrees Celcius)
3.5 cups flour
1 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Wait a few minutes until it starts to foam.
With the mixer set on low, slowly add the flour. Mix the salt with 2 tablespoons of water and throw that in as well.
Add the olive oil and mix until the dough becomes a unified ball.
Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth. Cover on all sides with olive oil, place in a bowl covered with saran wrap and let it sit for an hour in a warm spot. (I did a double recipe)
After an hour, the dough should have doubled in size. Turn it back out onto a floured suface and punch down.
I divided the double recipe into four equal pieces. I made one for arriving guests this evening, one is in the fridge to be baked for breakfast, and two went into the freezer.
Place on an oiled baking sheet. Push the dough from the center to the outer edges. No rolling allowed. Then poke it all over with a fork and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Place a bowl of water at the bottom of a preheated 250 degree Celcius oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
I topped this one with red onions, sage, olive oil, coarse salt and pink peppercorns.
Light, airy, delicious. Buon Appetito!
11 comments:
We want that foccacia !
Truly Scrumptious!! :-)
OK! Another recipe to try, can't wait! Thanks Diana!
this recipe is just perfect, it's just like I make it and my mom made it and it's wonderful and always will be!
Some secrets to making excellent focaccia from the kitchen of Rossella:
1) Always use the refrigerated (wet) lievito (yeast)
2) Substitute the sugar with a tablespoon of honey
3) Add one small boiled patato to the ingredients
The woman's focaccia is a "melt in your mouth" staple amongst family, friends and clients. Give it a try! xo
Meg, I use brown sugar and prefer it to honey for the flavor. Will try the other suggestions, though! :) I don't buy the wet yeast because I always have to throw them out because of the date....because I forget I have them.... HA!
I love to eat bread, especially foccacia, but that is the one thing in the kitchen that I have no patience for... yeast breads. Funny thing is... my husband likes to make bread from time to time. I guess this on just one of the many reasons that we are a pretty good team. Grüße aus Hamburg.
Your focaccia made me want to make my own, and was one of my big achievements between October '08 and March '09. There is nothing like waking up to some of your fresh focaccia first thing in the morning...
::sospiro::
Wow, this looks so tasty! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe...I'm lucky, living in Genova all I have to do is go downstairs for a piece of foccaccia, but making it yourself - I think I'll give it a try! Good luck with everything :)
Sorry for the dumb question, but do you add the toppings before or after baking?
no, you add the toppings before you bake. You can always add some extra afterwards though!
Post a Comment