The authentic focaccia Barese recipe that will make you feel like in Italy
My Mamma’s focaccia always reminds me of these long summer nights where we enjoyed an aperitivo outdoors. My taste buds would get excited by the sweet scent of the Italian bread baking in the oven in harmony with herbs. I just couldn’t wait until I could taste that soft focaccia along with a Spritz Aperol, while listening to my grandmothers’ jokes in our backyard surrounded by olive trees. This focaccia recipe (pronounced foh – kah- tchah) is the traditional way of making this authentic Italian food, straight from my Mamma’s recipe book. It is quite easy to make and results with a satisfying fluffy texture. The focaccia is a great alternative to pizza that can be eaten for lunch or dinner. It is also a simple snack if you feel a bit peckish.Focaccia Ingredients & material
Ingredients
- 470 g Italian 00 flour – if not found can be replaced by strong white bread flour
- 230 g lukewarm water
- 12 g salt
- 16 g sugar
- 5 g brewer’s yeast – or 1 sachet dried yeast
- 45 g extra virgin olive oil
- Black olives
- 1 Large handful of cherry tomatoes
- Oregano
Material
- Plain surface
- Baking sheet
- Oven tray
Focaccia step by step
Focaccia is one of my favorite home-made recipes as the original ingredients make it be so simple to follow for beginners, and can easily be combined with other dishes for a complete meal. This pizza alternative is also naturally vegan friendly as it mainly uses herbs and/or vegetables. No fancy equipment nor professional knowledge is needed as it is easy to make by the hand of with the help of a regular mixer.- Melt the yeast and sugar in warm water while mixing well with a fork.
- Add the salt directly to the flour. This is important as salt neutralizes the leavening.
- Gradually add the water mix to flour along with olive oil.
- Knead the dough for 5 min by hand or using the mixer until it forms a homogenous mix. If the dough is too soft, a little flour can be added.
- Roll out the dough by hand using a bit of oil. Do not use a rolling pin as it releases air from the dough and therefore makes it less soft.
- Make a ball out of the dough and transfer it to a large oiled bowl, cover it with a cloth and let it rest for 2 hours in the warmest place in the kitchen, or inside the oven with the lights on only, until it doubles in size.
- Once the dough has risen, place it in the oven tray and press it gently with your fingers, from the center to the edges.
- Preheat the oven at 220 °C/425 °F, and in the meantime add the tomatoes and olives previously cut in half, 2 tbsp. of olive oil mixed with oregano and sprinkle some sea salt or coarse salt all over the dough.
- Leave to prove for a further 20 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes until golden brown on top and soft in the middle.
Tips for an authentic Focaccia
As Mamma would always say, successful focaccia is when there is a perfect symbiosis between a tiny bit of crisp on top and mellow soft inside. She would always suggest adding a boiled and crushed potato for a softer and fluffier dough. She also says that it is important to keep in mind that olive oil the softness of focaccia, but hey, we know that it is something to be used with moderation 🙂 It is possible to keep the focaccia in the fridge, folded in a plastic wrap, for up to 3 days, and in the freezer for about a month.Focaccia variations
The advantage of focaccia recipes is that it can be used for many variations depending on your taste and desire. Garlic Rosemary Focaccia: Steam the garlic until soft, mash it with a fork, and add it to the olive oil along with rosemary herbs. Onion & green olives Focaccia: Cut 2 white onions and green olives into slices and add it directly to the dough before cooking. Once baked, add basil leaves on top before serving.Marinated balsamic onion & thyme Focaccia: Cut 2 red onion onions into slices, add garlic powder and salt, fry at medium-low heat until golden brown. Add 5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and thyme leaves, lower heat to minimum and cook for 3-4 min then let it cool. Add the fried onions directly to the dough and bake. Eggplant & dried tomato Focaccia: Slice the eggplant and grill without oil. Cut the dried tomato into pieces then add both tomatoes and eggplant to the dough, sprinkle rosemary herbs all over before baking. With all these variations you can also add garlic along with olive oil, cheese such as Parmesan or Taleggio, and use different dried herbs. Enjoy your focaccia!