2022 Giro d’Italia - Stage 12: Parma to Genova.
If you’re a regular here, you know I have reservations about baking. I have baked more over the past year, because practice makes perfect, right? Well, not always! Sure, I can now roll dough into a damn-near perfect circle. I am also starting to be able to feel and sense when something is not right with dough. There have been several failures, punctuated by some fantastic achievements. Today’s recipe falls somewhere in between, or what Bob Ross dubbed as a “happy accident.”
Focaccia is seemingly very simple, yet I can’t quite find a recipe that will bring me success. I made some many years ago (pre-blog) and it was too thick/bready. I made Bologna’s version last year in my culinary ridealong and found it was too dense. This one has potential, BUT, after making this twice with the same result, I have determined what went awry. The recipe I sourced may have a bad translation (much like today’s recipe-origin’s town is called Genova, not Genoa)!
The recipe originally called for brewer’s yeast, instead of baker’s yeast (normal yeast). No wonder the focaccia wouldn’t rise and was more reminiscent of saltine crackers than bread! While Focaccia shouldn’t be a thick bread, it should rise ever-so-slightly. However, this focaccia is not bad at all. In fact, if you like Stacey’s Pita Chips, you’re gonna love this “happy accident” recipe. These are perfect to dip into some caponata (store-bought is easy, but here’s a recipe if you’re so inclined).
Genova Focaccia
adapted from A Small Kitchen in Genoa, Enrica Monzani
Choose your own ending: cracker-style or bread-style by altering the yeast as indicated below. You will need a digital scale, stand mixer, cling wrap, and a rolling pin for this recipe.
370g flour
7g salt
6g malt powder
180g lukewarm water
8g fresh baker's yeast or 4g powdered yeast (for cracker style, use 8g brewer’s yeast)
18g olive oil
25g olive oil to grease a baking sheet
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil to brush bread at the end
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, add the flour, salt, malt, and all but 2 teaspoons of the water. Process on the lowest speed setting for 5 minutes. Then, add the yeast. Once the yeast is picked up by the dough, add in the18g of olive oil.
When the oil has been mostly absorbed by the dough, add in the remaining 2 tsps of water and increase the speed to medium. Continue to run the machine for about 7 minutes.
Place the dough on a work surface and flatten into a rectangular shape. Fold the left and right sides in and flip over, covering loosely with plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, grease a baking sheet with 25g of olive oil. With a rolling pin, work the dough into a larger rectangle until it roughly covers ⅔ of the baking sheet. Place the dough into the baking sheet and cover once more with cling wrap and a towel. Let is rest for another 30 minutes
After the additional 30 minutes rest, stretch the dough out to all the edges of the baking sheet. Cover once more with the cling wrap and towel and let the dough rest for 60 minutes.
After 60 minutes, whisk 1 tsp salt into 2 tsp water and reserve. Re-stretch the dough, if necessary, then dust the surface of the dough, liberally, with additional flour. Then, using your finger tips, press indentations into the surface of the bread.
Drizzle 1 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil over the surface of the dough, followed by the salt water mixture, using your hands to mix everything together on the surface of the dough. Cover one last time with the cling wrap and towel and let it rest for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with the rack set in the middle. After the final rest/rise, remove the towel and cling wrap from the baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until the surface is golden.
Remove from the oven and flip onto a cooling rack, brushing the bottom surface with the extra-virgin olive oil. Let it cool, upside down, for about 20-30 minutes.
Slice into squares and enjoy!
______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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