Spanish focaccia. Thin and crispy focaccia: recipes from Italian chefs and Jamie Oliver
Simple focaccia
Focaccia- a large flatbread made from yeast dough, covering the entire baking sheet - this is no longer bread, but not yet a pie. At home, in Liguria, it is not eaten as an addition to other food - it is an independent type of pastry for breakfast or afternoon snack. Initially, it was baked without additives, later they began to sprinkle the dough before baking herbs, olives, onions. Over time they started to use tomatoes, anchovies, cheese... But it already turns out almost like pizza! In fact, focaccia is its predecessor.Focaccia dough Simple, straight yeast is used, so the whole process is relatively quick, and the result is nevertheless excellent. That’s probably why focaccia spread, first beyond the borders of Liguria, and then to Italy. And they often began to use it as instant bread.
SIMPLE FOCACCIA RECIPE
NECESSARY:
500 g flour (+ flour for dusting the work surface)
15 g compressed yeast (1 tsp instant dry)
275-280 ml water
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. l. olive oil
Olive oil for lubrication
Coarse salt for sprinkling
A sprig of fresh or 2 pinches of dried rosemary
HOW TO COOK:
1. Sift the flour into a bowl (mixer bowl), make a well in the center, crumble the yeast (or add dry), pour in a little water from the total amount, stir, grabbing a little flour to form a paste. Leave for 15 minutes - the mixture will foam vigorously.
2. Add salt and, gradually pouring in the remaining water, knead into a soft sticky dough. Knead with your hands or a mixer until the dough begins to pull away from your hands and bowl, remaining slightly sticky.
3. Pour in the oil while continuing to stir. The dough will almost stop sticking to your hands.
4. Place the dough on a heavily floured table, grease the bowl with oil, quickly form the dough into a ball, tucking the edges inward, and place it in the greased bowl, smooth side up. Cover the bowl with film and place in a warm place to rise - the dough should increase in volume by 2-2.5 times, this will take 40 minutes.
5. Place the dough on a sheet of baking paper to fit the baking tray. Pressing gently with your hands, spread the dough over the surface. Cover and leave to proof for 30 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven along with the baking sheet to 220°C.
6. Sprinkle the proofed dough with water, brush with olive oil, make indentations all over the surface with your fingers to remove large air bubbles, distribute rosemary leaves, sprinkle with coarse salt.
Focaccia - baked goods
7. Quickly remove the hot baking sheet from the oven, transfer the dough onto it along with the paper, place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden brown.
8. Cool on a wire rack.
BY THE WAY: Depending on what kind of flour you use, focaccia can be made more “rubbery”, bread flour (bread flour), or more delicate, “pie” (refined premium flour). The amount of water will fluctuate.
Italian Focaccia is one of the most popular ancient types of bread that has survived to this day. This crispy flatbread was born thanks to the ingenuity of rural residents, who made up for the lack of food with their irrepressible imagination. From one classic recipe to modern kitchen Many baking options with a variety of seasonings were born. It is believed that focaccia was the first in Italy.
Even the famous one is just an evolved descendant of flat bread. Paradoxically, having arisen out of the need to save money, today the flatbread has found its way onto the menus of prestigious restaurants. Let's forget about our figure for a moment and plunge into the delicious world of Italian focaccia.
Most historians believe that focaccia first appeared during Etruscan times in northern Italy. Its name comes from the Roman “panis focacius”, which translates as “bread in the center of the fire”. In the era, the flatbread was baked in the ashes left over from the fire, and not over the flame.
The Roman recipe for focaccia consisted of coarse flour, olive oil, water and a small amount of yeast and salt.
In those days, they ate it quite simply, tearing it with their hands and dipping it in water acidified with vinegar. Nowadays, such a meal does not sound very appetizing, but for people exhausted from hard physical labor, the main task was to eat cheaply and satisfyingly.
In the Middle Ages, focaccia was widely used during religious celebrations. But most often it is served during the sacrament of the Eucharist as the “body of Christ.” This tradition came from the great availability of unleavened bread. Although some claim that her recipe is pure and untainted by foreign ingredients, and thus perfectly symbolizes the Lord free from sin.
Today to talk about focaccia means to imply (Liguria). It was this northern region that became the mother of a huge number of varieties of flatbread. But in addition to the Ligurian varieties of bread, almost every region of Italy has its own traditional way of preparing it.
Data
Classic focaccia dough contains 5 main ingredients: flour, water, olive oil, salt and yeast. Baking is absolutely not limited by shape. It can be round, square, or in the form of elongated stripes. Traditionally, yeast flatbread is tender, porous and 1.5-2 cm thick. Yeast-free bread is thin and crispy.
Many variations of the product have been created based on the classic focaccia. Many of them are characterized by the original name. For example, in Liguria 3 versions are the most popular:
- Focaccia Genovese (Focaccia Genovese or Focaccia classica di Genova)- This is a classic pastry, distinguished by a glossy, buttery crust and a light, porous crumb. Its height varies between 1-2 cm.
- Focaccia di Recco or Focaccia col formaggio- a thin yeast-free flatbread with a layer.
- Focaccia di Voltri- bread, which contains the same ingredients as in the classic version. But it differs significantly in external and taste characteristics. This is a thin, crispy product with large air bubbles.
Outside Liguria there are also unusual variations. Thus, in northwestern Italy, sweet focaccia (focaccia dolce) is common. It is sprinkled with sugar and supplemented with raisins, honey or other sweet ingredients. In South Tyrol they have a special love for flatbread with potatoes and rosemary (focaccia con patate e rosmarino).
There are essentially many ways to improve a famous product. We will talk about this below, but for now let’s move on to classic recipe focaccia.
Classic recipe
Everyone knows that only knowledge of the classics in most recipes helps to experiment and create incredible masterpieces.
The flatbread is delicious not only in combination with numerous fillings, but also in its natural form - with rosemary.
And the aroma that envelops the whole house of fresh baked goods will not leave anyone indifferent. We guarantee that nothing could be easier than making classic focaccia.
Components required for the test:
- Flour from fine soft wheat varieties – 350 g;
- Boiled water at room temperature – 210 g;
- Olive oil – 1 tbsp. spoon;
- Dry yeast – 7 g;
- Sugar – 2 teaspoons;
- Salt – 5 g.
Ingredients for lubricating the surface:
- Olive oil – 2 tbsp. spoons;
- Salt - a sliver.
Please note that when making this product in our homeland, the Italian grade 00 flour is used.
So, combine dry flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Add water and oil and knead the dough until elastic. Place it in an enamel container and cover with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place. Ideal option: preheat the oven to 50 degrees, turn off the heat and, placing a bowl of dough in it, close the door tightly.
After time has passed, we take the dough in our hands and gently knead it for about a minute to “drive out” the air from inside. Then distribute it evenly into a pre-greased baking dish (35*28 cm), cover and let rise again.
Using your fingertips, make indentations over the entire surface of the cake and last time leave for 10 minutes. The final touch: brush the focaccia with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 25 minutes.
Of course, fresh baked goods have the richest taste. But, nevertheless, you can store your bread in a fabric bag for about 2 days. In this case, it is recommended to slightly heat it in the oven before use.
Making thin focaccia
To prepare a thin flatbread, we will need the same ingredients and in the same quantities as for the classic version.
The difference in processes begins after kneading the dough. We divide it into 4 parts. Form balls, place on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 70-90 minutes.
When the volume of the dough has approximately doubled, it’s time to move on to the next stage. Transfer the balls one at a time to a floured work surface and roll out into thin disks about 30 cm in diameter.
In this case, the time for raising the dough is not maintained. Grease the flatbread with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake in an oven preheated to 250 degrees for 4-6 minutes.
The finished focaccia is flat and crispy. It is unevenly “decorated” with large air bubbles.
Recipe without yeast
For the most part, yeast focaccia is baked in the republic. But when it comes to flatbread with filling inside, then most often the dough for it does not contain yeast.
We will need:
- Flour – 250 g;
- Water – 120 ml;
- Olive oil – 30 ml (+ for lubrication);
- Salt - a pinch;
- Soft cheese (ideally stracchino) – 300 g.
If you can't buy it, replace it with any soft curd. In the most desperate situation, you can take processed cheese.
At the beginning of cooking, sift the flour into a deep bowl, pour a pinch of salt into the center and pour in water and oil. Mix everything well until the dough is homogeneous. Cover with a lid and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 2 parts and roll out with a rolling pin to a thickness of no more than 2 mm. Distribute the pieces of cheese evenly on one layer and cover with another, pinching the edges. Grease the surface with a small amount of olive oil.
Bake in a convection oven, preheated to 200 degrees, for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool and your focaccia with cheese is ready to eat.
Filling options
There are so many options for focaccia fillings that you can make your favorite flatbread, focusing only on your mood and desire.
To obtain a fragrant version of the product, herbs are used: rosemary, sage, basil, oregano. They are sprinkled on the surface of the dough after brushing with olive oil. In season, focaccia is decorated with tomatoes before baking. As a rule, Cherry fruits, cut in half, are used for this.
In yeast form, chopped onions or garlic are often added to the dough. Although some people prefer to see these spicy vegetables on the surface of the bread. In this case, onions are placed on it before baking, and garlic after (as well as fresh herbs).
Unlike classic focaccia, the yeast-free version practically requires a filling. In addition to the cheese mentioned above, for these purposes they take:
- Pieces of bacon, minced meat;
- Potatoes and other vegetables or vegetable mixtures (usually prepared);
- Sweet versions include raisins, nuts, jams and pieces of fresh fruit.
Today, focaccia with pesto sauce is very popular. It is prepared in two ways:
- Spread the sauce on the yeast flatbread before baking;
- Slices of boiled potatoes are placed on a thin dough (with or without yeast), which is then covered with Pesto. Place a second layer of dough on top of the resulting “pyramid”, pressing the edges tightly.
Honestly, decorating and stuffing Italian bread has no restrictions. Use your wild imagination to the maximum and enjoy the result.
Calorie content
Like most white types of bread, Italian focaccia is viewed with hostility by nutritionists around the world. With a fairly high calorie content (249 kcal per 100 g), it has virtually no nutritional value. The energy balance of 100 g of product consists of:
- Proteins – 8.8 g;
- Fats – 7.9 g;
- Carbohydrates – 36 g.
The large amount of carbohydrates in the flatbread automatically places it among the products that should be consumed with caution by people with disabilities. diabetes mellitus Type 2 and obese.
Mineral salt is negligibly present in bread. However, patients with arterial hypertension should adjust their diet taking into account the consumption of focaccia to avoid spikes in blood pressure.
The presence of gluten indicates that the product should be completely excluded from the diet of people with celiac disease.
A nice plus of the flatbread is vitamin E in the amount of 2.22 mg per 100 g. This is approximately 20-30% of the daily requirement of an adult. Tocopherol is a powerful antioxidant. It is involved in the functioning of the reproductive system, prevents the formation of blood clots, and is also responsible for the healthy appearance of the skin.
To summarize, let us remind you that everything is good in moderation. By limiting the portion of focaccia to 50-70 g, you will not only not harm your body, but will also get some light pleasure.
Softly and gently, in a delicious way, we have come to the end of the article. Live sweetly, love honestly, bake festively and remember: “Without pancakes it’s not Maslenitsa, without focaccia it’s not Italy!”
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Bread in the form of flatbread a very popular dish in many national cuisines. This is how they bake it in the Caucasus pita or churek. In India they call flatbread chapati, shelpek - among the Kazakhs. - that's what they call it homemade bread in Italy. This recipe could well be called the word familiar to us pita, but in the house there is olive oil, garlic and, most importantly, Rosemary is a very aromatic Mediterranean herb., so we will bake an Italian flatbread with rosemary, which is called.
You will need:
- premium wheat flour 500 gr
- water 250 ml
- dry yeast 7 gr
- fine salt 2 tsp.
To grease the flatbread:
- garlic 1-2 cloves
- coarse sea salt
- rosemary
Just that morning, Pippi was getting ready to bake some flatbread. She kneaded a lot of dough and began to roll it out right on the floor.
“I think, Mr. Nilsson,” Pippi turned to the monkey, “that it’s not worth taking on the dough if you’re going to bake less than half a thousand cakes.” (Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking)
The little girl Pippi from our childhood is really right - yeast dough loves big volumes, it turns out airier and tastier. But we don’t need half a thousand flatbreads at all, we will bake one, and therefore I advise you to knead the dough for focaccia using a mixer. This smart machine is designed in such a way that the best way It forms gluten in the dough (combines flour protein with water), which is why even a small volume of it behaves perfectly during baking and turns out perfect.
Step-by-step photo recipe for making focaccia:
Mix in a mixer bowl sifted flour with dry yeast.
Dissolve in warm water 2 tsp fine salt.
Pour the water and salt into the flour and turn on the mixer. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Make sure that all the flour is combined with water. If necessary, stop the mixer and scrape the flour from the sides of the bowl until it is all incorporated into the dough, then turn on the mixer and continue kneading.
When the flour and water combine, add to the dough. olive oil and continue kneading some more 3-5 minutes.
The dough should become homogeneous.
Turn off the mixer and turn the dough out onto a floured board. The dough is ready and you don’t need to knead it additionally, just knead it to make sure the kneading is even, form a ball and put it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel or cling film.
In this form the dough will be approach 1 hour.
While the yeast is doing its invisible work, prepare garlic oil for greasing the flatbread. To do this, squeeze the garlic through a press into the olive oil and stir.
After an hour, the dough rose and increased in volume. Through the glass you can clearly see that large bubbles have formed inside it.
Advice:If you want the flatbread to be large-pored, then do not leave the dough to ferment, but immediately after kneading, form the flatbread, wait for it to rise and bake.
But to make bread with smaller pores, you need to pre-proof the dough.
Post it knead well with his hands, roll out the flatbread leave for 30 minutes. Turn on the oven t 200°C, let it warm up well.
After 30 minutes, sprinkle with leaves with your finger or spoon rosemary and large sea salt. Bake in the oven t 200°C 25 minutes.
Here it is, a real homemade flatbread - focaccia with rosemary, olive oil and garlic! Congratulations on your first experience! It is truly a great happiness to feed your loved ones. home-baked bread!
Crispy crust, tender flesh, the aroma of rosemary and garlic and, of course, large pieces of salt, which made the flatbread even tastier. Focaccia keeps well and if you wrap it, it will be soft and tasty the next day.
Drizzle this bread with real olive oil - mmm... delicious!
You will need:
- premium wheat flour 500 gr
- water 250 ml
- dry yeast 7 gr
- fine salt 2 tsp.
- extra virgin olive oil 80 ml
- coarse sea salt
To grease the flatbread:
- extra virgin olive oil 2-3 tbsp.
- garlic 1-2 cloves
- rosemary
Mix in a mixer bowl flour with dry yeast. Dissolve in warm water 2 tsp fine salt. Pour the water and salt into the flour and turn on the mixer. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 5 minutes. When the flour and water combine, add to the dough. olive oil and continue kneading some more 3-5 minutes.
The dough should become homogeneous. Turn off the mixer and turn the dough out onto a floured board, knead to ensure evenness, form into a ball and place in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel or cling film and leave for 1 hour. Prepare garlic oil for greasing the flatbread: press the garlic through a press into the olive oil and stir. After 1 hour at post it risen dough in a bowl onto a board sprinkled with flour, knead well with his hands, roll out the flatbread, place on a greased baking sheet, cover with a towel and leave for 30 minutes. In 30 minutes make indentations in the flatbread finger or spoon brush with prepared garlic oil, sprinkle with leaves rosemary and large sea salt. Bake in the oven t 200 degrees 25 minutes.
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Italian focaccia
5 (100%) 2 votesFocaccia is a type of Italian yeast bread in the form of a flatbread. Each region bakes it according to its own recipes: with or without filling, fluffy or thin, round, oval, rectangular. Vegetables, cheese, ham, olives, herbs and spices are added to the dough, and the filling can be inside or on top, like on a pizza. The simplest option is Italian focaccia, a classic recipe made with olive oil with the addition of Provençal herbs and sea salt. This is where I propose to start getting acquainted with this pastry.
You can make minor changes to the focaccia recipe. sea salt It is permissible to replace the coarse herbs; instead of Provençal herbs, take basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary in arbitrary proportions.
Ingredients
To prepare Italian classic focaccia you will need:
- warm water – 100 ml;
- granulated sugar – 1 tbsp. l;
- fresh yeast – 12 g;
- wheat flour – 80 g.
- wheat flour – 220 g;
- water – 150 ml;
- sea or table salt – 2 tsp;
- Provencal herbs - 1 tbsp. l;
- olive oil – 3 tbsp. l.
How to make Italian focaccia. Recipe
Combine sugar and fresh yeast in a deep bowl. I don’t put salt in the dough; it will be added later.
I crush the yeast with a spoon and grind it with sugar into a thick brownish paste.
I pour in a little less than half a glass of warm water and stir the yeast mixture in it.
I sift the flour. If you don't have a scale, measure out 4 tbsp. spoons - it will be approximately 80 grams. Or add little by little until the dough reaches the consistency of sour cream.
Stir until smooth without lumps. There is no need to make a dense dough; it will take a long time to rise. I put the bowl in a warm place, covering the top with a towel or film.
If the yeast is strong and of high quality, after 20-25 minutes the dough will rise almost level with the edges and a sharp smell of fermentation will be felt.
To prevent impurities and debris from getting into the dough, I dissolve the salt in the remaining water by heating it.
I transfer the dough into a larger bowl and add salted water. I add Provençal herbs and let it sit for five minutes.
I sprinkle a little flour, sift the rest into a mound. I make a depression in the center.
I add olive oil. The peculiarity of any Italian bread recipe is the use of high-quality olive oil. It is believed that the texture of the crumb and the taste of baked goods largely depend on the type of oil in which focaccia is prepared. I have cold pressed olive oil.
Mix the ingredients with a spoon until a soft, loose lump forms.
Place it on a board, sprinkling the surface with flour. The focaccia dough will be very soft, even a little sticky, but kneads easily.
Try not to add more flour than indicated in the recipe. I grease my palms with oil two or three times - this improves the texture of the dough and makes it easier to knead.
I transfer the kneaded dough back, greasing the bottom and walls of the dish. I cover and put it in a warm place. I learned to use the oven for proofing. First I warm it up to +40 degrees and turn it off. I put the bowl with the dough in a warm oven and leave it to proof. If it has cooled down, I warm it up a little to the desired temperature. It’s very convenient and economical, the dough doesn’t over-acidify and rises wonderfully. After 40-45 minutes it will increase in volume several times and will be ready for cutting.
Before cutting, I knead the dough to release excess air. I divide it into two parts.
I don’t use a rolling pin; the focaccia dough can be easily stretched by hand to the desired thickness and shape. I put it on a sheet, knead it with my palms into a flat cake 1.5-2 cm thick. I cover it and leave it for 15-20 minutes. I turn on the oven and heat it up to 220-230 degrees.
Advice.The oven should be well heated, the temperature should not be lower than 220 degrees. Low heat will leave the focaccia pale and dry out.
Before the focaccia goes into the oven, I grease the surface with oil. Abundantly, but not so much that it pours onto the baking sheet.
I use my fingers to make indentations over the entire surface. I push deep, almost to the bottom. I sprinkle the top with aromatic herbs and put it in the oven.
At high temperature The focaccia is baked for 10-12 minutes. Do not leave the tortilla unattended, especially in the last two or three minutes - the top may burn if the heat is too high!
It is customary to serve focaccia warm or even hot, but it is very tasty in any form. When it cools down, the flavor of the spicy additives is better felt, but the crust is no longer crunchy.
Another feature: classic Italian focaccia cannot be cut with a knife. The flatbread is broken by hand and served on the table. Happy baking! Your Plyushkin.
For Italians, focaccia bread is a classic and traditional recipe, just like ciabatta. Both of these names are now familiar to us, and such bread can be bought in almost any bakery. But will what you buy really be cooked correctly, following the rules of Italian culinary experts? After all, the main goal of most of our bakers is to prepare and sell what is popular and generates income. Not everyone thinks about the quality and real taste of traditional baked goods. Therefore, today I will tell you in detail how focaccia is prepared.
Italian pastries at home
I have been interested in baking homemade bread for a long time. I first tried to bake homemade bread myself in 2010, when I bought a bread machine. Since then I have been baking both in it and in the oven. I prepared a wide variety of bread: salty and sweet, French baguette, cheese and tomato bread, with apple, chocolate and nuts, and much more. Usually this business takes time for kneading and proofing, and the baking process itself takes 40-50 minutes. But homemade focaccia is much faster and easier to prepare.
I had a rough idea of how to make focaccia, but Gordon Ramsay inspired me to do it. I watch his programs often and use a lot of them in my kitchen. In one of his programs, he talked about how to make focaccia at home. Essentially this is a quick yeast bread in which you can put herbs, onions, cheese and tomatoes, as well as olives and even fruit. Focaccia at home turns out much tastier than any bread from the bakery. And what a scent it has!
Homemade focaccia recipe
Using Gordon Ramsay's recipe as a basis, I decided to make focaccia with sun-dried tomatoes and Italian herbs. You can experiment with the filling and choose what you like best. Focaccia with rosemary and olives or focaccia with tomatoes and salami will still be a real Italian traditional bread. So, I’m sharing my experience in making focaccia: a classic recipe with photos and details.
- Sift the flour into a bowl, add semolina, salt, herbs (except rosemary) and dry yeast. Mix all dry ingredients well. Make a depression in the center.
- Combine the butter with warm water, mix and pour into the flour mixture in portions, kneading the dough. Don't try to pour all the water into the dough. Look at it by density, because a lot depends on the quality of the flour.
- You don't need to knead the dough for a long time. You can put it on a board with flour and knead it into a smooth ball that does not stick to your hands. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with cling film and let it double in size.
- Grease the baking dish generously with olive oil and salt well. Place the dough in it, stick the tomatoes into it, sprinkle with salt, rosemary and pour in olive oil again.
- Bake the bread at 180 degrees until fully cooked (check with a wooden stick).
So, now you have an excuse to make Italian focaccia bread - the recipe with photos is already waiting for you to use it! It's simple, tasty, aromatic and so homey!
The most famous dish Italian cuisine is undoubtedly pizza. If you don’t have time to cook, but really want to enjoy hot pizza, the Niama restaurant will help you with this. Here you can order pizza around the clock. The choice is simply huge: Margarita and Cold Cuts, Four Cheeses and 4 Aces, and much more.