Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Focaccia, who doesn't know it? The Italian oil bread is immensely popular and is available all over the world. But nowhere else do you eat focaccia as delicious as in Liguria, the region where the original recipe comes from. In this blog I will take you through the process of making a focaccia, tell you what makes the real focaccia so special and of course also have a recipe! Read along in this blog: Italian focaccia the bread of gold. focaccia recipes
The Romans are the founders.
Focaccia was already made in the Roman Empire, then without yeast, as an offering to the gods. Later, yeast was added to it and it became a popular food. Focaccia has few ingredients and was therefore very cheap to make. The name focaccia probably comes from the Latin word 'focus' which means 'hearth'. The bread used to be baked on fireplaces.
Can no longer be ignored from the street scene.
Today, focaccia is an integral part of the Italian street scene. When you walk into a bakery (panificio) in Italy (especially in the northern regions) you cannot escape it. There focaccia is in piles ready to be cut. They often just come out of the oven. In Italy it is very common to sell focaccia by the kilo. As we say in the Netherlands: “Can I have an ounce of minced meat?” at the butcher, they say in Italy: “Can I have a kilo of focaccia?” at the bakery.
Take the time for lightness!
The ingredients are very simple: Flour, fresh brewer's yeast, lukewarm water, salt, oil and sugar, but there are some rules. Focaccia has to be very light and you can achieve that in two ways.
Mixing brewer's yeast with water: If you mix the brewer's yeast with the water, you do this with a stick blender. This makes your brewer's yeast very frothy and extra air is released.
Knead, knead, knead: Kneading the dough is very important. The more you knead, the better the dough will rise and the fluffier the focaccia will be!
And then the long wait begins, because focaccia has to rise a lot. On average you spend about 3 hours making focaccia, of which almost 2.5 hours is rising time. However, the long wait is well rewarded.
The secret ingredient.....
Sal what? Salamoia… that is the secret ingredient of the focaccia! This is a mix of olive oil, water and salt. It is a kind of brine and this gives the focaccia its unmistakable taste! Use here for lukewarm water, a good quality olive oil and sea salt.
The salamoia is added at the last minute, just before the focaccia goes into the oven. The holes in the focaccia then fill with this special substance and this makes the focaccia soft and elastic in structure and salty in taste.
Italian focaccia the bread of gold
And then the moment is there. The focaccia comes out of the oven, what a picture! What is immediately noticeable: 'white spots' have appeared at the holes. This is because of the salamoia and if you ask me those are the tastiest pieces of the focaccia. There's a lot of flavor in this! And yes, focaccia will make your fingers very greasy and they should. You don't hear it often, but in this case: The fatter, the better! focaccia recipes
Here you will find the complete recipe with all the ingredients you need. I hope you have fun preparing the dish below.
Italian focaccia the bread of gold
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Ingredients:
- 340 gram flower
- 220 ml lukewarm water
- 25 ml olive oil
- 6 gram sugar
- 19 gram fresh brewer's yeast
- 10 gram salt
For the salamoia you will need:
- 50 ml lukewarm water
- 25 ml olive oil
- 10 gram sea salt
Nice and easy: click on the logo of your favorite supermarket to add the ingredients.
And this is how you make it:
- Mix the water with the yeast with an immersion blender for a few minutes.
- Add the olive oil and stir well.
- Take a mixing bowl, put half of the flour in it and mix until smooth. Add the salt and together with the rest of the flour and knead for about 15 minutes to a light dough.
- Place the dough on a board or large plate, cover with a tea towel and let it rise for 30 minutes. The dough should grow a lot.
- After 30 minutes, flatten the dough slightly and fold in half. Let this rise again for 30 minutes (covered with a tea towel).
- Take the baking sheet and grease it with olive oil. Place the dough in the baking tray, making sure that the entire bottom is covered. If necessary, press the dough towards the edge with your fingers.
- Then cover again with a tea towel and let it rise for another hour. When the dough has finished rising, you can make the salamoia. First mix the water well with the olive oil until a whole and then add the salt
- Press holes in the dough with your fingers (about halfway through the dough). Stir the salamoia well and then pour it over the focaccia. All holes should be filled with this.
- Sprinkle the top with a little more salt and put the focaccia in the oven at 230 degrees for about 14 minutes. The focaccia should be a nice golden brown color.
- Delicious bites!
This blog “Italian focaccia the bread of gold” is a contribution of Tim van La Cucina di Tim. Be sure to check out his website!
Want to read other blog(s) from Tim?
Authentic Italy Bari and its orecchiette
Focaccia with rosemary and garlic
Delicious broccoli leek soup with focaccia
Delicious Happen is a multi-media company, so you can also find me on various social media. follow me on Facebook, Pinterest en Instagram under @delicioushappen. If you make this recipe I would love it if you tagged me #delicioushappen. A comment below in the comments is also nice of course!
focaccia recipe recipes
Delicious the smell of fresh bread
Delicious focaccia. Also very tasty topped with stracchino and crudo.
Where did you get the brewer's yeast?
Amazing!