Region: Italy
Category: Pizza and Focaccia
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty
A focaccia is something like a thick cross between bread and pizza. It can be seasoned in a variety of ways, with olives, raisins, fennel seed, cheeses, salami, garlic, or onions being most popular ingredients. I usually serve this focaccia along with bread at meals.
Yield: Makes 4 focaccia
Preparation Time: 3:30 hours
1 2/3 cups warm water
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
Pinch of saffron
2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups bread or all-purpose flour
1. Heat the bottom of a large metal mixing bowl by inverting it under hot running water. Pour the warm water in. Add the yeast and garlic and let rest for 5 minutes. Add the saffron, salt, olive oil, and bread flour. Knead into a ball and then pour out onto a working surface. Knead for 12 minutes. Place back in the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel until it doubles in size, about 2 hours at room temperature (68ºF).
2. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
3. Cut the dough into 4 balls and press, roll, and stretch the dough until it is about 1 inch thick. Sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking stone so it doesn’t stick and bake until black spots appear and it is springy, about 30 minutes. Serve warm.
Posted: 12/28/2006
