Focaccia Barese
By: Katarina
Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010 - 10:02am

Ingredients




2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (350 grams of flower)
1 teaspoon sea salt (10 grams of sea salt)
1 teaspoon white sugar (10 grams of sugar)
1 tablespoon of fresh yeast (20 grams of fresh yeast)
1 cup lukewarm water (+/- 200 ml lukewarm water)
2 tablespoons +  olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 smashed potatoes
ripe cherry or date tomatoes

spices (origano,pepper,rosemary etc.)

olives

1 cup mozzarella (200 g mozzarella)

Preparation

1 Let the fresh yeast dissolve for 5-10 minutes in the lukewarm water with sugar and a splash of floar(it will help proving). Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast with sugar in a small hole in the flour. Add 2 cooked and smashed potatoes(potatoes add softness, height, and moisture to the dough, while a quick sponge creates air pockets and chewiness). 2 When the dough starts forming a ball, add a bit of the the olive oil. Knead for about 5-10 minutes with the wooden spoon. The mixure will not be able to be mixed with hands as it needs to be a bit wet and sticky;)(it will lead you to obtain the soft dough, but if you would prefer it rather like pizza alike structure, you should add as much flour as it needs to be compact dough). Leave to prove for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. 3 Cover your baking tray with pieces of butter and a bit of olive oil,too(it will bring the great tasty (read greasy ;) crust. 4 Knock the rised daugh into your generously oiled baking tray and dimple it a bit with wood spoon(it will help achiving the large bubbles during the fermentation and will mix a bit of oil into the dough and the result will be a focaccia bread that rose very high and had a nice, light texture and wonderful crust). 5 Add the little tomatoes and scatter them nicely over the dough(the best results are when adding a bit of tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes). Now make indents with your fingers and or thumbs in the dough, getting the characteristic focaccia holes. 6 Add spices upon your preferances. Leave to prove again for about 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven, 200-220 C (425 F) for about 30 minutes. Buon appetito!!!

About


Focaccia is quite popular in Italy and is usually seasoned with extra-virgin olive oil and/or herbs, sometimes topped with cheese or flavored with a number of vegetables (like onions for example). Focaccia dough is similar in style and texture to pizza dough consisting of high-gluten flour, water, salt and yeast, just a bit cakier but the crust has a satisfying chewiness that almost makes up for that, and the flavor is very good.