Focaccia EN

 

Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, this focaccia is perfect!

There are many ways to bake a focaccia. I have tried the following methods:

1) In a pyrex 24x32cm and a very fluffy bread came out.

2) In a large tray and it became very fluffy. We enjoyed it with the dip.

3) In two pyrex where in one I baked the focaccia and in the other I added feta. This made a delicious cheese bread.

It is an easy recipe and the secret of its success is the kneading, so it would be ideal to knead it in the standing mixer but it can also be done by hand.

We start with the "poolish" the day before as it must mature for at least 24 hours.

Ingredients for the poolish:

250g strong flour

250g water at room temperature

7-8g dry instant yeast

For the dough

375g strong flour

215g  lukewarm water

1 teaspoon of honey

50g of oil

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

5-6 sprigs of rosemary

Sea salt flakes

30g oil

20g water

Dip:

100ml olive oil

2 clove garlic

2 teaspoon balsamic cream

A little bit of salt

For the cheese bread: 

100g grated feta cheese

Poolish:

Mix the flour, water and yeast in a bowl or food zip lock bag.

Leave the poolish covered at room temperature for 1-2 hours and then put it in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

The next day, take out the poolish and leave it for 1 hour at room temperature.

Put the flour, yeast, honey, salt, oil and water in the mixer bowl. Knead at medium high speed for about 7-10' until the dough comes off the walls of the mixer (during kneading) and becomes homogeneous. This dough is very soft. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 hour. Wet a hand and fold the dough (4 folds) pulling it without cutting it. Let the dough rest for half an hour and fold it again with a wet hand. Let the dough rest for half an hour.

In total we will leave the dough to rise for 2 hours.

We spread some oil on the tray(s) that we will use and put baking paper on them. We will spread oil again on top of the baking paper.

We spread the dough on the tray or in 2 molds if we want to make a focaccia and a cheese bread.

Cover the tray(s) with cling film and let the dough rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

In a bowl, mix oil and water.

With our hands greased with the previous mixture, we press the dough lightly with our fingers without tearing or perforating the dough. We spread the remaining oil on the surface.

For the focaccia, we add some sea salt flakes and some rosemary leaves.

For the cheese bread, we spread the cheese all over the surface.

If we make a focaccia and a cheese bread, we use half the feta cheese.

Bake for 20-25' or until golden brown.

Remove the focaccia from the oven, leave it for 5' on the tray and then transfer it to a wire rack to cool. If we do not do this step, the base of the bread will get wet and will not be crispy.

For the dip:

In a small saucepan, lightly heat the oil and garlic for 3-4'. Let the oil with the garlic cool down. Add the vinegar and some salt and mix.

We serve on a small plate with the hot focaccia.