Focaccia
Genoa, Liguria. Focaccia Genovese (fugassa in Ligurian dialect) is protected by Genoese authorities as a traditional preparation. Ligurian bakers sell it warm from the oven as breakfast, with or without mortadella, or simply plain.
Focaccia Genovese: a thick, olive oil-drenched flatbread with a blistered, golden top, an open crumb, and a base that is simultaneously crisp and yielding. The key is a high-hydration dough (80%), a long cold ferment, and enough olive oil in the pan that the base fries rather than bakes. The dimples are made not to hold oil but to prevent the top from blistering unevenly during baking.
Vermentino from Liguria eaten warm from the oven at 10am in Genoa is the authentic experience. For a meal focaccia: Pigato from Albenga, the most mineral of Ligurian whites, alongside focaccia with olives and rosemary.
{"High hydration (80%): the wet dough creates a very open, airy crumb — the dough is too wet to knead conventionally and should be worked by stretch-and-fold","48-hour cold ferment: as with pizza, time builds flavour compounds and extensibility that a same-day dough lacks","Generous olive oil in the pan: the pan should have 4 tablespoons of olive oil before the dough goes in — the base literally fries in this oil during baking","Stretch gently into the oiled pan and leave to relax for 45 minutes before dimpling — fighting the dough tears it; the rest allows the gluten to relax","Dimple with oiled fingers pressing all the way to the pan base — the dimples create uniform blistering and provide channels for the brine to pool","Brine: 50ml warm water, 50ml olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt — pour over the dimpled surface immediately before baking at 230C for 20-25 minutes"}
RECIPE: Serves: 4 (makes one 25 cm round) | Prep: 30 min | Total: 240 min (includes rising and proofing) --- 500 g bread flour — Italian Type 0 (doppio zero), such as Antimo Caputo Tipo 0 325 ml water — room temperature 10 g sea salt 5 g instant yeast — or 2.5 g dry active yeast 80 ml extra virgin olive oil — first cold-pressed, divided 15 g coarse sea salt — for topping 10 g fresh rosemary sprigs — Tuscan variety --- 1. Combine bread flour, water, and instant yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook; mix on low speed for 3 minutes until a shaggy dough forms, then rest 10 minutes (autolyse). 2. Add sea salt and 60 ml olive oil; mix on medium speed for 8–10 minutes until dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky (perform the windowpane test: stretch a small piece gently until translucent). 3. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and proof at room temperature (20–22°C) for 2 hours until doubled in volume (bulk fermentation). 4. Gently pour remaining 20 ml olive oil into a 25 cm round baking tin (or 25 × 35 cm rectangular), coating the surface evenly; transfer proofed dough into the tin and gently stretch it to fill, creating an even layer (do not tear). 5. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature (final proof) until the dough rises slightly and feels airy to the touch. 6. Preheat oven to 220°C; using your fingertips, dimple the entire surface of focaccia by pressing firmly into the dough to create characteristic indentations (1 cm deep), working across the surface evenly. 7. Scatter coarse sea salt and rosemary sprigs over the dimpled surface; drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. 8. Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden-brown and tapping the base produces a hollow sound; cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board and slice while still warm. The moment where focaccia lives or dies is the final proof in the pan — after dimpling and brining, the focaccia should proof for a further 20 minutes before going in the oven. During this time, the dimples partially fill back in with the brine — this is correct. When you look at the surface just before baking, there should be visible bubbles forming under the brine in the dimples. These bubbles indicate live fermentation. Into a 230C oven they go.
{"Under-oiling the pan: insufficient oil produces a focaccia that bakes rather than fries — the base will not have the crisp-yielding contrast","Not allowing sufficient proof time in the pan: the focaccia should be visibly puffy and billowing before it goes in the oven","Dimpling cold dough: the dough tears — it must be relaxed to room temperature and extensible before dimpling"}
- Turkish borek base dough (high-fat, layered flatbread with olive oil); Middle Eastern man'ouche (flatbread baked with olive oil and za'atar — same olive-oil-drenched philosophy); Greek lagana (the flatbread of Clean Monday, olive oil-rich and dimpled).
Common Questions
Why does Focaccia taste the way it does?
Vermentino from Liguria eaten warm from the oven at 10am in Genoa is the authentic experience. For a meal focaccia: Pigato from Albenga, the most mineral of Ligurian whites, alongside focaccia with olives and rosemary.
What are common mistakes when making Focaccia?
{"Under-oiling the pan: insufficient oil produces a focaccia that bakes rather than fries — the base will not have the crisp-yielding contrast","Not allowing sufficient proof time in the pan: the focaccia should be visibly puffy and billowing before it goes in the oven","Dimpling cold dough: the dough tears — it must be relaxed to room temperature and extensible before dimpling"}
What dishes are similar to Focaccia?
Turkish borek base dough (high-fat, layered flatbread with olive oil); Middle Eastern man'ouche (flatbread baked with olive oil and za'atar — same olive-oil-drenched philosophy); Greek lagana (the flatbread of Clean Monday, olive oil-rich and dimpled).