Recipe – Focaccia Bread

Finding My Groove

Baking bread has not been kind to me. For the past few years, I’ve had yeast that didn’t activate, dough that wouldn’t rise, weird consistencies – you name it. I did manage to develop a good whole wheat flaxseed bread recipe, but I still didn’t feel fulfilled in the bread baking department.

Then, Minhan and I were on a bit of an Italian kick, and I decided to try to bake some focaccia bread. Surprisingly, it worked on my first shot and it tasted pretty good! Not only that, but I’ve since been able to infuse some herbal flavors and even used it as a base for baking some pizza. On with the process!

The Beginning

The dough itself is extremely wet. Also, it’s a monster. The first time I let it proof, it was in a smaller bowl and the dough ended up pushing the cling film and spilling over the edge. I learned my lesson quick! As usual, I start with salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl, mix them in their respective sides, then add the water. I like the flavor of oregano and basil, and decided to infuse those in with the dough. I prefer dried herbs because they do not add moisture to the dough, and are often a bit stronger in flavor and easier to distribute evenly.

For this recipe, I used a stand mixer. However, I’ve made it using my hands and it worked out great! Actually, I was able to mix more evenly using my hands, but the convenience of a stand mixer is sometimes too good to pass up. Plus, all I need to do is use a spatula after the mixture to really make sure there are no dry flour bits at the bottom of the bowl.

As I mentioned earlier – the dough is very wet! Don’t be alarmed if it looks like glutenous cake batter.

The Monster

Once the dough is well mixed, grease the sides of the bowl with some olive oil. To make this a bit easier, I used a spatula to peel the dough away from the bowl, then drizzled the oil around the dough. Afterwards, I would continue to use the spatula to move the dough and the oil would fall into the sides of the bowl.

I’ve made this bread several times over the past month or so, and the proofing time varied from 1-3hr, depending on the temperature of the room. Either way, I highly suggest using a bowl that can hold a little over double the volume of the dough to avoid this monstrous dough spilling over! If you’re paranoid, you can put a cookie sheet underneath the bowl just to be safe.

After the dough has doubled in size, it’s ready to take out! For this recipe, a 9″x13″ baking sheet that’s about 1cm tall worked perfectly. Be sure to grease the sides of the pan and the top of the parchment paper. A trick is to grease the baking sheet without the parchment paper first. Then, lay the parchment paper on the greased sheet and flip it over. Voila! A greased parchment paper. This goopy monster comes out of the bowl pretty easily with a spatula.

In a separate small mixing bowl, I mixed some dried oregano, basil, and ground black pepper. I sprinkled it on top of the dough and used a brush to spread it out.

At this point, roll up your sleeves and use your fingers to really push the dough into the edges and corners of the sheet. Dimples in the dough are characteristic of focaccia!

Optional Toppings

I honestly don’t think a second proofing step is needed for this dough. We tried it (see below) and let it proof for 20min in a plastic bag, and it grew super fast. It started spilling over the edges, so we had to top the dough pretty fast. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a monster!

We were in the mood for pizza, so we whipped up some base by simmering tomato puree with some dried herbs, salt, and pepper. We topped it with pineapple, sausage, olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, raw onions, and cheese – it was yummy!

The Bake

We could actually see the dough rising quickly, so we moved it to a larger foil-lined sheet. Here is the before and after shot!

And here’s a top view:

One of the characteristics of focaccia is the large irregular holes in the bread. It made me happy when I saw this! I imagine dunking this and having the holes fill up with a nice marinara sauce. YUM!

Materials:

• 500g unbleached all purpose flour (I like using Bob’s Red Mill)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 2 cups tap water
• 1 tbsp dried oregano (+extra for sprinkling)
• 1 tbsp dried basil (+extra for sprinkling)
• Olive oil
• Ground black pepper

Methods

1. In a bowl fit for a stand mixer, weigh flour and mix salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl. Add 1 tbsp each of oregano and basil.
   • Note #1: This can also be done without a stand mixer by using your hands or a strong spatula to mix.
   • Note #2: For me, dried herbs give a better flavor in baked breads.
2. Add tap water and use a dough attachment on low setting to mix the dough. The dough will be wet!
3. Use a spatula to peel the dough away from the bowl and grease the bottom and sides of the bowl with olive oil. Make sure the oil coats enough of the bowl to accommodate the dough rising. You might need to shift the dough around a bit to get a full coating with the olive oil.
4. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and proof until the dough has doubled in size (~1-4hr).
5. Line a 9″x13″ baking tray with parchment paper and coat the bottom and sides with olive oil.
   • Tip: To get the parchment paper to properly stick to the bottom of the tray, I suggest coating the tray without the parchment paper first, then pressing the parchment paper to the bottom of the tray and flipping it over, so the oiled side is now facing up.
6. Overturn the dough onto the parchment paper using a spatula and use your fingers to press the dough into the edges of the tray. Leaving dimples in the dough is preferable!
7. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the dough (if needed) and sprinkle a black pepper/oregano/salt mixture over the dough.
   • Optional: let proof for ~20min if you want it fluffier.
8. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
9. Bake for ~22min.

A Bit of History of Focaccia Bread

A bit of etymology: “focaccia” comes from the Roman “panis focacius”. “Panis” meaning bread, and “focacius” being Latin for center or fireplace. It is thought that the original focaccia was cooked on fire ashes rather than on a tray, which makes this etymology sensible. Interesting story: Ancient Romans baked focaccia with a fava bean somewhere in the dough during the Saturnalia ceremony for a lucky man to find. Whoever found the bean became lord of the ceremony!

Focaccia is a flatbread that is a precursor to modern-day pizza. The original recipe descended from the Etruscans or Ancient Greeks who lived in Northern Italy around 1000BC. Bakers used heated stone slabs and poked the bubbles to release some of the pressure. Dotting the bread and brushing olive oil preserved the bread for longer. Focaccia in this region was typically a dipping bread. After many long hours of work, people would dip the bread in a “soup” made primarily of water, vinegar and olive oil – yum! It was a cheap way to provide nourishment workers needed.

Although there were other flatbreads being developed across the region, climate studies have provided hints regarding the origin of focaccia. The dough rises naturally in mountainous regions where the air is less dense, such as the Mediterranean region. This contrasts with more coastal areas, like present-day coastal Lebanon, where a small amount of yeast is typically needed to help the dough rise.

During the Roman Empire, street vendors and bakeries sold focaccia throughout Italy. Evidence of creating and selling focaccia was preserved when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD and destroyed Pompey.

Today, focaccia exists around the world under different names. For example, in Argentina it is called “fugazza”, in France it is called “fougasse”, and in Spain it is called “hogaza”.

As usual, comments, conversations, feedback, and messages are always welcome!

References

“A Short History of Focaccia Bread”. Big History. Retrieved September 16th, 2018.
“History of Focaccia Bread”. Abigail’s Bakery. Retrieved September 16th, 2018.
“History of Focaccia – The Precursor of Pizza”. Pizza Facts. Retrieved September 16th, 2018.