Focacciagenoese Recipes

Steps:

• Place 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl, and sprinkle yeast over the surface. Let stand until yeast is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
• Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour in the cold water, yeast mixture, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and biga. Stir together using a sturdy wooden spoon.
• When the dough comes together, turn out onto a floured surface, and knead vigorously for about 20 minutes. Take a few 1 to 2 minute breaks if you like. The dough will be somewhat sticky until it is fully kneaded. Form dough into a ball. Rub the inside of a clean bowl with oil, and place the dough in it. Turn to coat the ball with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size. This will take about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down the dough by folding the edges into the center and turning it over so the top is once again smooth. Cover the bowl again, and let the dough rise a second time until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently flatten into an 8 inch square using the palms of your hands. Cover and let rise again.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place a baking stone in the oven while it preheats. Dust a bakers peel with cornmeal, and gently slide it under the dough square. Use your fingers to make a dimpled surface by pressing them about 3/4 of the way down into the dough. Mist with water.
• Sprinkle a little cornmeal over the surface of the baking stone. Slide the square off of the peel onto the baking stone. Mist some water into the hot oven, and quickly shut the door.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack. Brush the surface with remaining olive oil while the foccacia is still hot.

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook on low speed, stir in the warm water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, mixing until the flour is completely moistened. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Add the salt and knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. (The dough will tighten up, then begin to relax. After 5 minutes it will be very wet and stick to the bottom of the mixer but not the sides.)
• Rub 2 tablespoons olive oil around the bottom and sides of a large mixing bowl (big enough to hold at least double the volume of the dough). Using a scraper or spatula, transfer the dough to the bowl, flipping once to coat completely with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil into the bottom of an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Use your hands to evenly distribute the oil along the bottom and up the sides. Scrape the dough into the baking sheet, flattening it slightly with your hands. Flip the dough once and gently stretch it to fit into an even layer in the baking sheet. (The dough may not stretch to the edges at this point. If it starts to pull back, let rest 10 minutes and re-stretch, making sure to pull from the center as well as the edges to get an even thickness.) Use your fingertips to make dimples over the surface of the focaccia, pressing firmly but not so hard you make holes in the dough.
• For the brine and finish: Dissolve the kosher salt in 1/3 cup warm water. Drizzle over the surface of the focaccia, letting it pool in the dimples. Cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to relax and rise again.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through, until the focaccia is deep golden brown on the top and bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Drizzle with the olive oil and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to remove the focaccia to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Note: I used a KitchenAid stand up mixer to prepare this recipe.
• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large mixing bowl, stir it in and set aside until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the flour and beat until smooth. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until puffy and bubbling, about 30 minutes.
• To the sponge in the large bowl, add the water, wine and 1/3 cup olive oil, and stir to combine.
• If mixing by hand, whisk in 1 cup of flour and 2 teaspoons salt, then beat in the rest of the flour until you have a dough that is very soft and very sticky.
• Knead on a lightly floured board with the help of a dough scraper and 1 to 2 additional tablespoons of flour until the dough comes together nicely and is silky and shiny, 6 to 8 minutes; it should remain soft but not wet.
• If mixing with a mixer, using the *paddle attachment* beat together the water, wine, 1/3 cup olive oil and sponge.
• Add the flour and 2 teaspoons salt and mix until the dough comes together (it will be very soft).
• Change to the *dough hook* and knead for 3 minutes at medium speed, stopping once or twice to press the dough into a ball to aid in the kneading.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and knead by hand using the 1 to 2 additional tablespoons of flour to finish, 6 to 8 turns at most. It should remain soft but not wet.
• Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled container, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside until doubled, about 1 hour.
• The dough should be soft and full of air bubbles and should stretch easily.
• Press it into a well-oiled (17-by-12-inch) jelly roll pan (I used parchment paper-fyi), dimple it well with your fingertips or knuckles (I used the end of a wooden spoon), cover with a tea towel and let rise until puffy and doubled, about 45 minutes.
• If the dough springs back before it is completely stretched, set it aside to "relax" the dough for a few minutes, then stretch again; the dough will stretch more easily after it is rested.
• At least 30 minutes before you plan to bake, heat the oven to 425 degrees with a baking stone inside on the lowest shelf.
• Once again, dimple the top of the dough with your fingertips or knuckles, drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil so it pools in the little indentations and sprinkle with the remaining salt.
• Place the pan directly on the stone and immediately reduce the temperature to 400 degrees. Place a shallow metal container of water on the floor of the oven to make steam.
• Bake until the focaccia is golden (lift the bread to check underneath as well), 25 to 30 minutes (25 minutes for my loaf).
• Immediately remove from the oven and cool briefly on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• For the focaccia: Combine the water, salt, sugar and yeast in a spouted measuring cup. Whisk in 3 tablespoons olive oil.
• Combine the yeast mixture and 3 cups of the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough comes together, then switch to the dough hook and knead on medium-high speed until smooth and stretchy, about 5 minutes. The dough should form a loose, somewhat sticky ball on the dough hook, but won't entirely clean the sides of the bowl. (If the dough doesn't form a ball at all, add tablespoons of flour, up to 1/4 cups.)
• Brush a quarter-sheet pan with 2 tablespoons oil. Add the dough, then turn to coat and press to almost fill the pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the temperature of your room.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Uncover the dough and gently press all of the way to the edges of the pan. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. If you'd like to make a vertical landscape, turn the pan with the short side facing you.
• For decoration: Start with a layer of seeds on the bottom. Using asparagus, long chives and scallion greens, add your tall stems first, then cover those at the bottom with shorter sprigs of herbs to make some ground cover. Add some butterflies, made with horizontal slices of baby bell peppers and chive antennae. Once you're happy with the arrangement, press down on the decorations to make sure they stick to the dough.
• Use your finger to gently dimple the dough in the space where you haven't decorated. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the focaccia is risen and the top and bottom are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Whisk yeast, honey, and 2½ cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl and let sit 5 minutes. Add flour and salt; mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.
• Pour 4 Tbsp. oil into the biggest 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.
• Generously butter a 13x9" baking pan (for thicker focaccia that's perfect for sandwiches) or an 18x13" rimmed baking sheet. Pour 1 Tbsp. oil into center of pan. Keeping the dough in the bowl, 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. (Using a fork in each hand makes this process even easier and less messy!)
• Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over the dough and coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot until doubled in size, at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours. To see if it's ready, poke the dough with your finger. The dough should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn't ready. (If at this point the dough is ready to bake but you aren't, you can chill it up to 1 hour.)
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°F. Lightly oil your hands. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill (you may not need to do this if using a baking pan). Dimple focaccia all over with your fingers, as if you're aggressively playing the piano, creating very deep depressions in the dough. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20-30 minutes.
• Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and grate in garlic (use 2 cloves if you're garlic-shy or up to 4 if you love it). Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until garlic is just lightly toasted, about 45 seconds. Brush garlic butter all over focaccia. If you don't want to serve the focaccia immediately, hold off on brushing so it remains crisp.