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Traditional Focaccia Bread

by Jan 14, 2021Recipes, Bread, Italian4 comments

Traditional focaccia bread has a rich history dating back to the 16th century, pre-dating the advent of pizza. While there are many variations and uses of focaccia, the true classic is rosemary focaccia bread—a staple commonly gracing the shelves of grocery stores, bustling markets, and inviting bakeries. Characterized by its relatively thin profile, usually 3/4″ to 1 1/2″ in thickness, it gains its distinctive flavor from a generous sprinkling of rosemary and a careful dash of salt.

What’s The Big Deal About Focaccia

Focaccia doesn’t just stop at being a snacking bread or a side meal to your pasta dish, it morphed into what is now known as pizza. Thankfully, the many uses of focaccia don’t stop there. In Florence and Firenze, they make amazing focaccia sandwiches slathered in a truffle spread that will consume your life. Rome has also adapted it to their own style of pizza. When you sit and eat at a trattoria or osteria, a basket of assorted bread will be brought to you to enjoy and will almost always include focaccia.
Rosemary focaccia bread proofing
My favorite focaccia bread is rosemary focaccia bread. The aroma of rosemary-infused focaccia baking in the oven always brings a smile to my face. Paired with fresh Stracciatella cheese, it becomes an unbeatable combination.

What is a Biga and Why Use It

In the realm of baking, a biga is a pre-ferment vital for enhancing both flavor and texture. This technique leverages the natural yeasts in flour, and adding a small amount of yeast accelerates the fermentation process. This method differs from sourdough starters, where fermentation occurs naturally over time. While sourdough starters require maintenance and feeding over long periods, a biga is prepared just when needed

Uses of Focaccia Bread

Focaccia is not merely a bread to snack on or a tool to mop up every drop of sauce from your plate; it embodies so much more.

I fondly recall a quaint Antica in Florence, located just before the Ponte Vecchio bridge. This establishment had an assembly-line approach to crafting sandwiches. Customers would choose a sauce—black truffle spread being the uncontested favorite—a single type of meat, and their preferred cheese. A word of advice: approach the line decisively and ready to order. Hesitation might earn you a skip in the queue, reminiscent of the infamous soup nazi scenario.

Think of focaccia as the precursor to the Roman pizza; it paved the way for the pizza we adore today. Focaccia is incredibly versatile—you can craft pockets filled with, well, whatever your heart desires. Among all its renditions, my ultimate favorite is focaccia paired with fresh Stracciatella cheese. While it’s a rarity outside of Italy, when you chance upon it, it’s a flavor to cherish.

Rosemary focaccia bread

Genovese Focaccia

I’m excited to share my traditional focaccia recipe, taking inspiration from Genovese, Genoa. While I call it “inspired,” I tend to make my biga slightly wetter than usual. This moisture in the dough results in a lighter crumb. After all, nobody enjoys biting into overly dense bread, a likely outcome when the flour-water ratio is skewed too much towards flour.

For those keen on crafting the perfect Genovese focaccia, often referred to as “Fugassa”, here are some pointers:

1. When shaping your dough to fit your sheet pan, avoid pressing and pushing, which can deflate the air pockets formed during fermentation, leading to a denser focaccia. Instead, gently pull and stretch.
2. Be mindful of the olive oil quantity on your sheet pan; excessive oil can turn the base of your focaccia soggy.
3. Aim for a dough thickness of approximately 3/4″ once baked. Initially, you should be targeting about 1/3″ in raw dough thickness, though, ultimately, it’s up to your personal preference.

Rosemary focaccia bread
Traditional Focaccia Bread

Traditional Focaccia Bread

Traditional focaccia recipe using a pre-ferment to give it added flavor.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting time 11 hours
Total Time 12 hours 50 minutes
Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people
Calories 297 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Poolish

  • 1 cup Unbleached bread flour 160g by weight
  • 1 cup Water, tepid or slightly warm 200ml, 230g
  • ½ tsp Active dry yeast 2g by weight

Dough

  • Poolish (see above)
  • 1 ½ cup Unbleached bread flour 250g by weight
  • ¼ cup water 50 ml
  • ½ tsp Honey
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • ¼ tsp Yeast 1g by weight

Pre-Bake Topping

  • ¼ cup Olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Rosemary
  • 1 tsp Salt

Instructions
 

Poolish Instructions

  • Using a fork or wire whisk, mix flour water and yeast together until there are no lumps.
  • Cover loosely with a plastic wrap and set aside on the counter overnight, 10 hours.

Focaccia Dough Instructions

  • Mix poolish and dough ingredients together in a large mixing bowl or Kitchen Aid bowl, if using stand mixer.
  • Knead for 15 minutes by hand or 10 minutes using stand mixer at level 2 with dough hook.
  • In a large bowl, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and move dough into that bowl. Roll dough around to evenly coat it with olive oil and cover with damp kitchen towel, plastic wrap or my favorite, a shower cap.
  • Rest in warm area for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  • In a 9 x 13 sheet pan, use half of the olive oil to coat the bottom and gently scrap the focaccia dough into the sheet pan. Pull the dough to stretch it to reach the edges of the pan.
  • Pre-heat oven to 375°
  • Pour the remainder of the olive oil on top and spread evenly. Add more if you need more but make sure to top is coated.
  • Using your finger tips, press down into the dough to create dimples.
  • Sprinkle with salt and rosemary
  • Once, oven comes to temp, bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on the and the internal temperature is 200°F

Notes

If you prefer to have thicker and crispy edge focaccia bread, use a cast iron skillet. The heat retention of the cast iron combined with the olive oil will give you a much crispier crust.