Focaccia Pugliese

Crispy on the bottom, airy on the inside and full of flavor throughout! This recipe is from my YouTube video about Focaccia. Check it out for a complete demonstration on the procedure.

INGREDIENTS

Yield: 4 focaccia of 500g each
• All purpose flour* 730g = 26oz
• Semola** 313g = 11oz
• Instant dry yeast 4g = 0.14oz = 1 tsp
• Water (at around 60-68F or 15-20C) 768g = 27oz
• Extra virgin olive oil 107g = 4oz + more for each baking pan
• Lard (or vegetable shortening) 43g = 1.5oz
• Sugar 4g = 0.14oz = 1 tsp
• Kosher salt 31g = 1oz
• Toppings: crushed canned tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper, anchovies, cherry tomatoes, rosemary, evoo, Maldon salt, chili oil, pitted olives, sautéed onions, dried oregano, etc. Whatever your heart desires.
• You are also going to need some disposable aluminum tins, loaf pans, a sheet tray or square pans to bake the focaccia in.

PROCEDURE

  • Reserve ½ cup of water and half of the total salt on the side.
  • Place the ingredients in the following order in your mixing bowl: a. Water, evoo, lard, half of the salt. Then continue with the flour, semola, sugar and yeast.
  • You can mix the entire thing by hand or with the help of a bench scraper, however if you are using a stand up mixer, start mixing with the paddle attachment until everything comes together. Scrape down the sides.
  • Add the left over ½ cup of water and mix until the dough comes back together. Don’t worry, it will be sticky.
  • Switch to the hook attachment.
  • Continue mixing for about 3 minutes and start adding the rest of the salt. Mix for another 3-4 minutes. It will be very elastic but it should come away from the sides of the bowl if pulled.
  • The desired dough temperature for proofing is 75F or 23C. You can test this simply by inserting a thermometer in the middle of the dough.
  • I proof my breads inside my oven (turned OFF) but I prep it first by boiling about 4 cups of water and dividing it into two containers that will fit on the bottom of in the middle rack of the oven. The steam from the water will create a nice warm and humid environment for your breads to proof nicely and at a good rate.
  • After you’ve prepped your oven or proofing box, add about 8-10g of evoo to each tin or pan and spread it around all through the bottom and sides.
  • Divide the dough into 500g portions (see YouTube video for demonstration). Stretch gently throughout the surface of the pan.
  • Proof for about 2 ½ -3 hours making sure you reheat or change the water inside the oven every 30-45 minutes to ensure that the proofing environment is constantly humid and warm.
  • After they are proofed, take the focaccia out of the oven and start heating it at 400F
  • You can now add your favorite toppings. Mine are crushed canned tomatoes and anchovies with a sprinkle of dried oregano. I also love rosemary with some more rosemary infused evoo.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400F and the last 15-20 minutes at 385F. Just be aware that every oven is different and therefore they might take a few minutes more or less. Also, notice that these baking times are for focaccia that weigh 500g each. If you make them bigger or deeper, it might take a bit longer and if you make them thinner or smaller, they will take less time.
  • Once you take them out of the oven, place them over a cooling rack and bring to room temperature…TRY to resist the temptation of cutting them right away. However if you cant…I’ll understand 🙂
  • If you want to freeze them, put them directly in the freezer once they have reached room temp. Once they are frozen, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.
  • To reheat them, bring them back to room temp and place them UPSIDE DOWN on a sheet tray and in a 375F oven for about 5-8 minutes. The bottom should be crispy. Cut them still upside down and then flip them over to serve. Repeat this process every time you want to serve them.

* I use King Arthur Baking “All Purpose” or “Sir Galahad” Flour. The protein content in this flour is 11.7%. Just in case you are in a different country, make sure you use a flour with a similar protein content. This is also the equivalent to the French 55 flour.

**Semola is a thinner or finer ground Semolina. You can easily find semola online but you could also just substitute for semolina.

I hope you love this focaccia as much as I do. Happy baking!

Do you really want to learn?

JOIN THE SCHOOL

Keep In Touch

Instagram Facebook-f Youtube