The Classic Food of Northern Italy by Anna Del Conte

Author:Anna Del Conte
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781911595854
Publisher: Pavilion Books
Published: 2018-02-09T05:00:00+00:00

Focaccia

V

Makes 1 large shape

500 g/1 lb 2 oz/4½ cups Italian 00 flour

1½ tsp easy-blend dried yeast (rapid-rise dry yeast)

1 heaped tsp fine salt

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp coarse sea salt

Focaccia is a popular dish everywhere now. Its motherland is Liguria, where the version made with cheese is probably the most popular. Here is the basic recipe for plain focaccia. You can add chopped fresh rosemary (or sage) and garlic to the dough, or olives. Alternatively you can top the focaccia with chopped peeled tomatoes, or very finely sliced sweet onion. The important thing is to be able to make a good basic focaccia, soft and tasty.

I prefer to use easy-blend dried yeast, first because it does blend more easily than fresh or ordinary dried yeast, and secondly because I can always have some to hand when I want to make focaccia or bread.

Put the flour in a bowl. Sprinkle with the yeast and the fine salt and pour in about 4 tbsp of the oil. Mix very quickly and then gradually add about 300–350 ml/10–12 fl oz/1¼–1½ cups of water. Mix again quickly and stop as soon as the dough is blended. Put the dough on the floured work surface and knead quickly for 1 to 2 minutes. This dough is very damp. Wash the bowl and dry it, then oil it lightly. Return the dough and cover the bowl with a damp cloth, folded over. Leave in a warm corner of the kitchen until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Punch the dough down. Turn it over and over, punching it all over. Put it into a 20 x 23 cm/12 x 9 in baking tray (cookie sheet) and press out in an even layer. Cover and leave in a warm place for a further hour or so, until the dough is soft and light.

Heat the oven to 220°C Fan/240ºC/475ºF/Gas Mark 9.

Mix the remaining oil with a little water. Dip your fingers into this mixture and press down into the focaccia to form hollows. Sprinkle with the coarse sea salt and brush the top with the remaining oil and water mixture. (The water, mixed with the oil, keeps the surface soft during the baking.)

Turn the heat down to 200°C Fan/220ºC/425ºF/Gas Mark 7 and bake the focaccia until golden, about 20 minutes. Turn the focaccia out on to a wire rack and eat while still warm. Otherwise, reheat it in a low oven before eating.

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