Focaccia italy. Italian focaccia: the best recipes

• Wheat flour - 400 g
• Yeast - 8 g
• Salt - 8 g
• Water - 300 ml
• Olive oil
• A small handful of fresh rosemary leaves
• Sea salt or pesto sauce with a bite;)

Close Ingredient stamp

Hello everyone! A little rest and I'm back on track with new recipes and fresh ideas. This time I have a wonderful pastry for you - classic focaccia with rosemary.

By the way, how do you feel about Italian pastries? Do you love? Personally, I am a passion, I adore panini, ciabatta, pizza and many other baked goods of Italian origin. Air-saturated dough, leaves of fresh herbs, crispy crust, aroma ... Well, how can you not love it, right?

One very simple snack is common in Italy: a slice of fresh bread is sprinkled with olive oil and optionally seasoned with sea salt. Everything! No juicy tomatoes, spicy sauces or prosciutto for you. Taste is in simplicity and lightness. I, too, did not bother too much and bought my favorite pesto sauce. How delicious it was!

By the way, if you are the lucky owner of some “smart” kitchen machine, for example, a mixer with a hook attachment for kneading dough, then this recipe will seem like no easier way to you. Well, and I, as always, in the old fashioned way, with my hands, but with the ability to keep everything under control and be a part of this business.

The other day Tory published in social media. networks useful with top creams and instructions for their use, have you already managed to save yourself? So, I also wanted to do something terribly for my part. For example, TOP summer sauces and dressings. How do you like the idea, will it be useful? In the meantime, my basil absorbs the Ural rays of the sun and slowly grows for my culinary creations, we will prepare a focaccia that will make you want to sing and dance.
Check it out? Then don't switch!

Let's make the dough

First, sift 400 g of organic wheat flour into a large deep bowl. Add table salt and instant yeast. Pour in lukewarm water and using a mixer with a nozzle at low speed, start kneading the dough, for about 5-6 minutes.

And for those who create with their hands, you need to get an elastic, but slightly sticky dough. It is easiest to work with it on a smooth wooden surface such as your kitchen table. Lightly sprinkle it with flour.

Now roll the finished dough into a small ball.

Then we slightly “powder” the bottom of the bowl with flour and add the dough.

Cover the bowl with a slightly damp towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours. The dough should double in size.
While the dough is rising, there is time to chat. I mentioned pesto and basil for a reason. The thing is that for several years now I have been growing greens on my windowsill. It has become a kind of tradition for me - planting greens in spring, trying different varieties of seeds, experimenting with soil and generally always being with fresh herbs. Almost all year round!

How are you doing with this? Do you grow anything at home?

It is really very convenient, and most importantly - practical. Any dish begins to play in a special way with herbs, and how much aroma from it in the kitchen, how much freshness!
I can't live long without pesto. Sometimes you won't find it in the nearest shops during the day with fire, or it costs fabulous money. It was then that I began to make this sauce myself from the basil from my "garden". The beauty! Who has not yet started growing greens on their own, I do my best to recommend starting planting and not be afraid of anything, it's not difficult! All herb is generally unpretentious, with the exception of rosemary and thyme!

When the dough has risen, knead it a little and cut it in half. Sprinkle the work surface with flour and roll out the dough like pizza. Only the thickness depends on how airy you want it to be. Lavash, of course, does not need to be done, about 3 cm.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with olive oil or sunflower oil and place the dough (if two circles fit, good, if not, bake them in turn) on the baking sheet. Sprinkle 2 circles of dough with olive oil on top, remember the future bread with our fingers, sprinkle with fresh rosemary leaves and season with table or sea salt. At this stage, you can make absolutely any filling for your focaccia: olives, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pieces of crispy bacon, garlic, whatever your heart desires!

Now again cover the dough with a towel, this time dry, and very carefully so that the filling barely touches the towel. Yes, yes, this is a real quest, I know! But you will succeed! Leave the focaccia in a warm, draft-free place for another 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220C for now. Place the wire rack in the center, and as soon as the dough “reaches” we put it in the oven. Bake the focaccia for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

We take our bread out of the oven, do not be alarmed if it is hard and dry - this is normal, it just needs to "rest". Cover with a towel, or better with two and put oven mitts on top!))) Leave for 15 minutes. This will make our focaccia soft and tasty!

Here is such classic focaccia I did it! If the weather permits in your city, bake this sumptuous bread and go for a picnic!

Bon appetit and delicious adventure!

• 1. There will be a lot of photos, but this does not mean that the recipe is complicated. I repeat, cooking focaccia is very simple, and everything about everything will take a few minutes. Roll up your sleeves and add flour to a spacious bowl. Then olive oil, salt ...
• 2. ... and cold water. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes, or preferably 10. As a result, the dough should be soft and elastic. And moderately sticky
  
• 3. Then I put the dough into a slightly smaller bowl, which is optional. It is important to cover it tightly with foil and leave to rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
  
• 4. An hour has passed. Place the dough on a floured table. Depending on the size of your baking dish, you can bake one large focacci or two small focaccias. Accordingly, you need two or four pieces of dough. My shape is small, 21x21 cm. Therefore, I cut the dough with a knife into four equal parts. Like this:
  
• 5. Line one quarter slightly with your fingers. Take a rolling pin and roll it into a square shape. Your baking dish can be rectangular or even round. The corresponding figure and pull
  
• 6. Take the dough in your hands. It is elastic and easily stretches to an impressive size. See how pliable it is. We pull our fingers oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo! Like a rubber band! Here is the strong Italian Manitoba
  
• 7. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil. I sprinkled :)
  
• 8. Pull the dough over the edges of the mold. The middle, like a hammock, will hang in the air. Like this:
  
• 9. Spoon out the cheese the way you like it. I laid out four in the corners and one in the center. Perhaps it would be more interesting to lay out the cheese in nine smaller portions. In three rows, three pieces each. Experiment!)
  
• 10. Take the second piece of dough and repeat the procedures described in paragraph 5. Cover our structure with the obtained layer
  
• 11. It is important that the edges of the lower and upper layers are tightly connected. Walk your fingers around the perimeter and check the quality of the gluing. Zhamk-zhamk!
  
• 12. We take out the rolling pin. By the way, it's time to turn on the oven for heating. Turn the temperature knob to the maximum. Most household stoves have 250 C. So, let's continue. Using a rolling pin, "cut off" the excess dough sagging from the outside of the baking sheet
  
• 13. Perhaps this is one of the most pleasant stages of the recipe, it is a pleasure to tear off the dough :) Use the trimmings to prepare another, mini focaccia
  
• 14. Let's help the dough slide to the bottom. See how graceful it is. Puffed up with pride. Outwardly like a down pillow!)) Sealed, damn it!
  
• 15. Sprinkle the surface with olive oil and salt with coarse salt. Salt coarse, I say, do not take small! When you eat focaccia, you will thank me and tell me how pleasant and appropriate tiny pieces of salt are here. But don't oversalt :)
  
• 16. To escape air during baking, make a couple of holes in the ceiling.
  
• 17. I broke through one, with a pretty penny. Here it is in the middle. Focaccia deflated and began to remind me of Carlson from the cartoon, when he frightened the crooks who were tying other people's blanket covers in the attics! Do you recognize ?!)
  
• 18. If the oven has turned off the red light, which in its language means: - "Hot me", let's send our creativity to its middle
  
• 19. Stool to the stove, sit down and look inside with curiosity. There, in 5-6 minutes of hissing, stirring and wave-like inflation and deflation, the following changes will occur:
  If now you press down (carefully, hot!) With your finger on the bulges, steam will escape through our hole, like from a steam locomotive!
• 20. Garnish the focaccia with herbs and serve hot. I will not tell you how delicious it is! A tiny cake with milk cheese .... Mmmm .... Try it yourself, you won't regret it!))
  
• 21. Did you like the recipe? I would be extremely grateful if you would rate the recipe and / or write a comment. Thanks! :)

When you do not want to buy store bread and you have the time and desire to make homemade bread in your oven, then you will not find a better recipe. Focaccia is a classic recipe, although it is homemade bread, but it is prepared quite quickly. The peculiarity of its preparation is the good olive oil, which is used when kneading the dough. This cake is prepared both with yeast and without yeast. And also, it is prepared with a variety of additional products. In the classic version, rosemary herb is also added to the recipe for this bread, but this is optional. I don't like this seasoning because it has a Christmas tree scent. But whoever loves, if desired, add sprigs of fresh rosemary to the dough while kneading. One of the popular ways to prepare this tortilla is with sun-dried tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. Parmesan or any other hard cheese, olives, olives, onions and garlic are also used as fillers for this bread. Whatever fillers you use, olive oil is a must in this bread.

Ingredients

• - wheat flour 500 g
• - sugar 1 tablespoon
• - salt 1 tsp
• - olive oil 50 g
• - dry yeast 1 tablespoon
• - sugar 1 tablespoon
• - warm water 200 ml

Preparation

To make focaccia bread, you first need to add dry yeast and sugar to warm water (2 tablespoons). Stir and let this mixture stand for 10 minutes. The yeast will begin to bubble and this indicates that it is already possible to work with it. Sift wheat flour into a large bowl, add salt and thoroughly mix dry ingredients for Italian focaccia bread. Make a depression in the middle of the flour and pour in warm water with yeast, olive oil and the rest of the warm water. For rosemary lovers, dry or fresh rosemary can be added to the dough at this stage. Focaccia with rosemary has a distinct aroma of this herb. Gently mix warm water with olive oil and knead the focaccia dough. When it acquires a more uniform consistency, then it must be transferred to a wooden board, sprinkled with flour and knead the dough for at least 10 minutes.

The dough should be elastic and completely homogeneous. Roll it into a ball and place in a deep bowl, oiled inside with olive oil. Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel or cling film. Set aside for 30 minutes in a warm place for the dough to rise. Then put it on a wooden surface and roll it out to the size of a baking sheet in which you will bake classic focaccia. Cover the baking sheet with a towel and let stand for another 30 minutes. Then make indentations with the pads of your fingers over the entire surface of the rolled dough, grease it with olive oil and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees.

Focaccia with tomatoes

When it comes to making such Italian bread with tomatoes, you definitely need to add various herbs to it. The focaccia cake itself is prepared according to the recipe described above. The difference is that before you put the rolled cake into the oven, you need to put sun-dried tomatoes, olives into it, as it were, pressing a little, pour olive oil on top and sprinkle with rosemary if you wish. Focaccia bread recipe with tomatoes is also prepared with cherry tomatoes, which must be cut in half and spread over the entire surface of the tortilla. Be sure to drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Provencal herbs. You can also sprinkle the focaccia with olives, tomatoes and olive oil with dried thyme or basil before placing it in the oven.

Focaccia with cheese

To prepare an Italian focaccia tortilla stuffed with cheese, you need to take about 100 g of any hard cheese, which must be grated. Then you need to prepare a dressing, with which we will grease the cake on top.

Ingredients

• - 50 g sour cream
• - 50 g mayonnaise
• - garlic 2 teeth
• - dried basil 1 tsp
• - salt 1 tsp
• - dried oregano 1 tsp

Focaccia with cheese recipe when cheese is laid on top of a tortilla is also prepared from the dough, the recipe for which is described above. Spread a mixture of sour cream, mayonnaise, oregano, basil and garlic with salt on a baking sheet rolled out to the size and a settled cake (at least 30 minutes). We distribute this mass over the entire surface, and sprinkle with grated cheese on top. Then put the focaccia with garlic and cheese in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. They eat such a fragrant tortilla hot along with some kind of vegetable salad. The recipe for focaccia with garlic and cheese, when grated cheese is kneaded into the dough, you can see below.

Focaccia fine recipe

This cake is prepared not only fluffy when the dough rises and increases in volume, but also thinly rolled. Such focaccia is prepared without yeast. To prepare it you need:

• - flour 300 g
• - salt half a teaspoon
• - olive oil 30 g
• - warm water 100 ml

Focaccia is a thin crunchy recipe that consists of the same products as for yeast focaccia minus the very same yeast and sugar. Mix flour and salt, add warm water and olive oil and knead the dough. Before working with such a dough, it should settle for 30 minutes in a bowl covered with cling film. Then the dough must be rolled out to the size of the baking sheet in which the yeast-free focaccia will be baked, the recipe for which may also include herbs. Before putting the focaccia recipe in the oven, thin Italian focaccia must be greased on top with olive oil and sprinkled with dried basil and thyme. Then make cuts over the entire surface of the cake, let stand for 20 minutes and bake for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees. The cuts are made so that the finished yeast-free focaccia cake is easy to break.

Focaccia with onions

To knead the dough for focaccia recipe with onions, you need to fry the onions in sunflower oil until soft. Fried onions are needed because we will mix them into the dough. Making onion focaccia takes the same time as regular yeast focaccio. You need to knead the dough according to the recipe, which is indicated in the very first in this article. Then you need to add a little salt to the fried onions and knead them into the dough. Roll out the tortilla with onions to the size of a baking sheet, let stand for 30 minutes to allow the yeast dough to increase slightly, sprinkle with dried basil, brush with olive oil and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. Potato focaccia is prepared in the same way. Only instead of fried onions, mashed potatoes are mixed into the dough.

Focaccia with pesto

Pesto sauce is one of the most beloved sauces in Italy, which is made from fresh green basil and nuts (pine, walnuts, etc.) with the addition of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. In general, the Italian focaccia bread recipe with pesto sauce is a riot of taste that will appeal to many! You can see how to cook such focaccia with pesto sauce in the video below.

Italian cuisine, which is very popular in Russia, has presented the world not only with pizza and pasta, but also delicious focaccia - traditional yeast bread with various fillings.

Some researchers are inclined to believe that it is focaccia that is a kind of ancestor of pizza, with the difference that in focaccia the emphasis is on the bread crust, and not on additional ingredients. Traditionally, in different regions of Italy, focaccia is baked according to local recipes: the shape and thickness may vary, the filling can be laid out either on top of the dough or baked inside the cake. Most often, before baking, the focaccia is generously greased with olive oil, garlic and herbs, and the dough is pressed with your fingers, forming depressions in which this oil accumulates.

In today's review, we share the intricacies and secrets of making delicious focaccia at home and present a recipe for Ligurian fine focaccia stuffed with cheese. Mom mia!

Seven Secrets to Making Focaccia

It is best to train on a round rather than a rectangular focaccia: round dough is easier to roll and stretch. Less touching in this case guarantees a fluffy bubble dough.

After transferring it to the mold, let the dough rise again and only then proceed to baking - this will keep as much air as possible inside the cake.

Pour some olive oil into a baking dish - the bottom of the focaccia will absorb it during baking, which will only add flavor and crunch to the product.

If you want to make a semi-fluffy focaccia, try using mineral water instead of water in the recipe. The result is a batter that, when baked on floured parchment paper, will produce an ideal layer of medium height.

To add flavor to the focacce, after the first rise of the dough, form a depression in the lump and add finely chopped sage or basil greens there.

Pay attention to the temperature of the water: it is important that the water is warm to make the correct focacci dough. Too hot water can stop fermentation, too cold water to slow down the process.

Instead of 100% butter, try greasing the focaccia with an emulsion of oil, water and salt to keep the product from drying out when baked.

Thin focaccia with soft cheese

This is a fairly simple focaccia, but with a little secret. The thinnest, like paper, layers of yeast-free dough hide the delicate cheese. These ingredients are enough to make 3-4 crispy cakes.

Ingredients:

• Water 0.2 liters
• Olive oil 0.1 liter + a few tablespoons for lubrication
• Salt 2 tsp + a pinch for sprinkling
• Flour 3 cups
• Soft spreadable cheese 500 g

Cooking method:

In a medium bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine water, olive oil, salt and 1 cup flour until smooth. Stirring constantly with a spoon, gradually add the remaining 2 cups of flour - you should end up with a smooth, lump-free mixture.

In a bowl, knead a firm dough with your hands for 5 minutes. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it brew for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 250 degrees and brush with olive oil on a baking sheet or round pizza pan.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and keep the unused lumps under a towel or wrapped in plastic wrap until needed.

On a floured work surface, first roll out the dough bun with a rolling pin, and then begin to gently stretch it with your hands, trying to get the thinnest possible layers.

Transfer the first layer to a baking dish and place the cheese slices on top. Take another layer of dough, stretch it and cover the base with it. Use a knife, rolling pin, or hands to tap the edges of the focaccia to loosen any excess dough. Then use your fingers to seal the layers.

Experience shows that Russians often have a mistaken idea of ​​focaccia, the oldest Italian dish, the traditional food of warriors and peasants. This is understandable, the focaccia that is served in Moscow restaurants, as a rule, is thinly sliced ​​pieces of bread, which are used to eat the main dish.

In fact, focaccia is a completely independent dish, it was invented in Liguria, and to this day it is this region of Italy that is considered the main place where you need to taste focaccia.

In the photo: focaccia on the focacceria counter

According to the popular version, focaccia is the predecessor of pizza, while classic pizza appeared after Columbus (by the way, also a native of the Liguria region) brought tomatoes from America to Europe. Focaccia is baked according to the same principle as pizza: the flatbread is placed in an oven preheated to a very high temperature (around 300 degrees), but unlike pizza, the classic focaccia flatbread rises completely. The result is a fairly thick slice of the freshest bread that is recommended for breakfast. However, if desired, focaccia can be consumed for lunch and dinner. We spent a week in Liguria tasting different types of focaccia, and we are ready to talk about each of them in detail.

FOCACCIA TYPES

In Liguria, a variety of variations of focaccia are sold in establishments that bear the name “focaccia”, which is not very euphonious for the Russian ear. Usually in each focacceria you can find up to 30 varieties of the famous Italian flatbread, it all depends on the imagination and taste preferences of the chef of a particular institution. Here are just the classics, that is, the types of tortillas that can be found all over the place.

FOCACCIA CLASSIC

It is cut into square pieces or a whole cake. Salted dough is saturated with olive oil, which is why this type of focaccia tastes very delicate (despite the fact that, by and large, it is just a piece of bread). It is necessary to eat hot, after eating it is better to wash your hands thoroughly, as they will literally shine from the olive oil.

FOCACCIA WITH BLACK OLIVES

In addition to olive oil, the tortilla dough contains crushed particles of black olives. Lirugia is generally famous for the fact that in this region of Italy olives of all kinds are visible and invisible, and the local olive oil is considered one of the best in the country. Focaccia with black olives has a recognizable, slightly piquant taste, and due to the fact that the dough is soaked through with olive oil, the cake melts in the mouth.

After lengthy tastings, we came to the conclusion that it is focaccia with black olives that is the most delicious variety of this dish.

FOCACCIA WITH PESTO

Like focaccia, pesto is a Ligurian signature dish; by and large, pesto is the region's most famous product. Focaccia with pesto is no longer an appetizer, but a complete dish. It is a thick round cake topped with heated pesto.

As a rule, you will not find this type of focaccia in focaccia, and why should you, if you can buy any tortilla in the institution if you want, and then water it yourself with pesto at home. But the dish is very common in restaurants in Liguria, Italians eat it as a snack, one per person, while I would advise Russians to take one focaccia for two, otherwise there is a risk that there will simply not be room in the stomach for the main dish.

FOCACCIA WITH HERBS

Again, a dough soaked in olive oil, which is then sprinkled with either garlic, or basil, or any other herb. Whether you like it or not depends on your gastronomic preferences in relation to a particular spice.

The main rule: herbal focaccia should be fresh, which is called only from the oven, but if you buy morning focaccia in the evening, then 90 percent out of a hundred, it will seem a little dry to you.

FOCACCIA WITH CHEESE

There are two varieties: thick and thin. Thick - tastes like our khachapuri, with the only difference that the soft cheeses used for the production of focaccia are evenly distributed in the cake.

Photo: focaccia with cheese and tomatoes

Overall tasty and nutritious. A thin variety of cheese focaccia more reminiscent of a pizza without tomatoes, a great snack between lunch and dinner.

FOCACCIA WITH TOMATOES AND OLIVES

In Lirugia, in its historical homeland, this type of focaccia is not as common as in Apulia, but nevertheless. Baked slices of tomatoes and olives adorn the tops of round plump flatbreads, which is why this type of focaccia evoked persistent associations with Russian variations on the theme of pizza.