Focaccia Recipe

Parkerman & Christie from San Diego, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

This recipe was provided by our Artist in Residence, Delali Adiamah.

Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread made of (high-gluten) flour, oil, water, salt and yeast. Focaccia is often sprinkled with additional salt or topped with other salty ingredients such as olives and rosemary.

Ingredients:

• Active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)

• 2 ½ cups luke warm water

• 2 tsp. Honey

• 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour

• 5 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. Morton kosher salt. Kosher salt

• 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for hands

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for pan

• Flaky sea salt

• 4 garlic cloves

Let's make the dough:

1. Whisk one ¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.), 2 tsp. honey, and 2½ cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl and let sit 5 minutes

2. Add 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour and 5 tsp. kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.

3. Pour 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into a big bowl that will fit in your refrigerator. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a silicone lid or plastic wrap and chill until dough is doubled in size (it should look very bubbly and alive), at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

   If you're in a rush, you can also let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours.

4. Butter a 13x9" baking pan to ensure that your focaccia doesn’t stick to the pan. Pour 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into center of pan.

   Technique to deflating the dough without over mixing: Keep the dough in the bowl and using a fork in each hand, gather up edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat process. Do this 2 more times; you want to deflate dough while you form it into a rough ball.

5. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over and turn dough to coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot.

6. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°F

7. Dimple focaccia all over with your wet fingers. Dip your fingers in a bowl of water or apply some oil if the dough is sticking to your fingers and repeat “dimpling”

8. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. And add any veggies or herb, cheese of your choice

9. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.