I have tried different recipes over the years without success, so my joy when I managed to get this kind of results was great.

Here a basic recipe that you will have to adapt a bit to the equipment you have.

Ingredients:

500 gr White Flour

1 cube of fresh yeast

7 gr of salt

300 gr water

20 ml of Olive Oil

For the brine:

20 ml of water

40 ml of Olive oil

Fresh rosemary

coarse salt

 

I started by dissolving the yeast in warm water (around 35%).

In a kitchen robot equipped with the hook I started by mixing the flour and the salt at slow speed.

Add slowly the water with the yeast. When mixed well, slowly add the olive oil.

Then slowly switch to a higher speed for few minutes, before closing at the highest speed for the hook (normally a 3) for a couple of minutes.

Put some drops of oil on a working surface (i used a wooden one) and start to work it a little with your hands. After few minutes of work you should get a nice homogenous ball.

Put it back in a bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. On top I put a kitchen towel to make sure the foil doesn’t move.

Let the dough prove for 2 hours in a warmer place in your kitchen.

The dough should have more than doubled in size and be nice and fluffy.

Choose your oven tin or form. I have a silicone cake form, roughly 30 cm diameter and about 4-5 cm height and decided to use this one. If you use a traditional one, don’t forget to oil it or to put a baking sheet.

The important step here, is to work as little as possible with the dough now. The first time I tried a recipe it added a third proofing time, but the more I worked the dough and the more it would fall down. Therefore flip the bowl on the form and adjust the dough in it. Use your fingers to spread it and leave little dimples on the top (do not put too much pressure).

Now mix the water and oil for the brine and cover your dough. Add some rosemary and some coarse salt.

Cover again with a film and the kitchen towel and let it rest for another hour.

Now it’s time to prepare the oven. I have one that has a so called true fan cooking plus function for breads. This means that on top of the normal circulating air function, it adds some steam from time to time. If you do not have this, I recommend putting a bowl of water below your bake.

Time to bake your focaccia at 190°C for 40 minutes. If you do not have circulated air, you may have to increase the temperature by 10 degrees.

Let it cool down and enjoy!

Here my boyfriend’s creation with Squaccherone, Rucola from our garden and Parma Ham