In Italy, focaccia is recognized as the oldest predecessor to pizza. Italian wheat flatbread baked in a wood oven in each region of Italy has its own cooking traditions. Thick or thin, rectangular or round, sweet or salty, with or without filling, perhaps there are only the three whales that hold the focaccia and they will be a must for any recipe: flour, water, and olive oil.
In Italy, focaccia is recognized as the oldest predecessor to pizza. Italian wheat flatbread baked in a wood oven in each region of Italy has its own cooking traditions. Thick or thin, rectangular or round, sweet or salty, with or without filling, perhaps there are only the three whales that hold the focaccia and they will be a must for any recipe: flour, water, and olive oil.- Prep time: 15 minutes + 2 hours’ proving
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Makes: 1 focaccia
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: pastry
- Cookware: cheese grater
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 750 g durum wheat semolina flour
- 300 ml milk
- 10 g dry yeast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
For the filling:
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled, chopped into 4 pieces each
- 8 olives, pitted, cut in half
- 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves
- 50 g sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 50 g parmesan, grated
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- coarse crystal sea salt
Cooking method
Step 1
Sift flour into a bowl, add salt, sugar, yeast and mix well. Pour flour onto the work surface, make a hole in the middle and add milk and olive oil. Knead the dough. The structure of the dough should be soft, not steep, slightly liquid. To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, you can grease them with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle the bottom of the bowl for proving the dough with flour, transfer the dough there, cover with foil and leave in a warm place for 1½ hours.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 200°C. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out the dough. Form a rectangle out of it. Let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Make holes in the dough with your fingers. Add a little bit of olive oil to each hole and add rosemary, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Sprinkle the focaccia with coarse sea salt. Bake the focaccia for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle the focaccia with parmesan 5 minutes before taking it out.
My tips and tricks:
Imagine that focaccia is a white paper and you can draw anything you want on it. After you finish my recipe, try making it with fresh tomatoes, basil and olives; cheese and pear; young goat cheese; onions and garlic; with whole cherry tomatoes, olives, and rosemary; young onions and thyme; with aubergine, tomatoes, bell pepper, cheese; with lemons, pecorino, and rosemary; zucchini and basil; with fresh figs and rosemary. And when you try it all, come up with your own 🙂
- For the dough:
- 750 g durum wheat semolina flour
- 300 ml milk
- 10 g dry yeast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- For the filling:
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled, chopped into 4 pieces each
- 8 olives, pitted, cut in half
- 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves
- 50 g sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 50 g parmesan, grated
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- coarse crystal sea salt
- Sift flour into a bowl, add salt, sugar, yeast and mix well. Pour flour onto the work surface, make a hole in the middle and add milk and olive oil. Knead the dough. The structure of the dough should be soft, not steep, slightly liquid. To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, you can grease them with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle the bottom of the bowl for proving the dough with flour, transfer the dough there, cover with foil and leave in a warm place for 1½ hours.
- Heat the oven to 200°C. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out the dough. Form a rectangle out of it. Let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Make holes in the dough with your fingers. Add a little bit of olive oil to each hole and add rosemary, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Sprinkle the focaccia with coarse sea salt. Bake the focaccia for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle the focaccia with parmesan 5 minutes before taking it out.