5/07/2008

Focaccia calda. Want some?


Irresistible, still warm and crunchy. Can you hear me bite it? ;)
Focaccia doesn't have to be too thick, doesn't have to be too gummy. That's why should be eaten few mins after is out of the oven. Calda e croccante!
Yumm!

Focaccia

(for 2 oven baking sheets)
-2 cups semola flour
-2 cups unbleached flour
-1 tbs dry active yeast
-2 tsp of sugar (divided)
-1 cup lukewarm water
-1/2 cup lukewarm milk
-3 tbs e.v.o.o. plus more for brushing
-3 tsp of sea salt
Put the yeast in a small bowl with 1 tsp of sugar and 3 tbs of warm water and let it activate for at least 10 minutes. It is ready when it is foamy and wet. Mix the 2 flours in an adequate bowl (or in a mixer with a dough hook), make a well in the flour and add the yeast, the milk and the water and start to knead just to blend the ingredients.
Then add the the e.v.o.o. the sugar and the the salt and knead for 5mins if you are using a mixer, or 10 minutes if you are kneading it by hand.
When you are finished, the dough should be wet but not sticky. If it's sticky put some flour on a board and knead it a little bit. Cover and allow to raise in a warm place for 1and ½ hours. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2 minutes, and let it rise again for 1/2 hr. Cover the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. Cut the dough in two parts, and using your fingertips, nudge the dough into a rectangle. Let rise again for 10minutes. Make indentations all over the dough by pressing with your fingertips all the way through the dough. Brush with an emulsion of water and olive oil over the top, filling in the wells. Then you can sprinkle the surface with rosemary, or cherry tomatoes which are cut in half and oregano, or thinly sliced onion, or simply with a little sea salt. Let it rise for another 10mins. Preheat oven at 400°F. Bake until crisp on the bottom and golden brown on top, about 15mins for each pan (it will depend on the oven).
Let me know how you like it.

7 comments:

Thoga00 said...

Milk? I've never used milk in my foccaccia. What does that do for the foccaccia? And I only use type "00", what do the semola do for the focaccia? And what is with the dry Yeast? Don't you Americans have good old beer yeast?

Unknown said...

Hi
I tried this focaccia at cinzia's home and it is UNBELIEVABLE GOOD!!!!!
and the milk and the semola probably make it so good....
so, I'm italian too, but here in usa it's not easy to find the beer yeast, but the dry one it is everywhere and you can storage it at home for longer time, plus it's really the same.....
You have to try sometime ;-)

Cinzia said...

thoga00:
To answer your question:
In general “00” flour is recommended for making sweets. For making leaven dough you should use the flour commonly called “di forza”. By mixing “di forza” flour and semolina flour, you can make a really crispy focaccia. The milk instead help the softness inside. If you make your focaccia dough the same way you make your pizza dough, I imagine it comes out dry and lacking body. In terms of yeast, as you probably know, beer yeast is hard to find in the States and if you do, it is very expensive, so you can just use dry yeast.

I hope this answers your questions. Maybe the next time we can compare focaccia’s.

Irene :@

Thoga00 said...

Unfortunately, the only thing that I have "di forza" in my house is a camicia. As for comparing focaccie with you, I have no doubt that yours would come out on top of course. I would have to be as impazzito as my mayonaise. So I would much rather compare Linguaccie with you... :-PPP

and Irene I envy you getting to sample the recipes, I am sure they are heanvenly. :-)

ThoGa

Ste said...

Hi. It is a very appetizing blog. Are you interested in a CASATIELLO recipe?
Most people in S. Clara probably doesn't know how is this wonderful Italian plate.
The only problem is how translate "nzugna".......
Kiss
See you soon Ste

Cinzia said...

Ahahahahah!
Ste'... that was really great! I don't know how to translate either, but I do know how to find it. So, come on, gimme the recipe, I'll make it, shot it and post it. We will call it "Casatiello 'nzugna and black pepper" di Ste.
Kisses and huggies
PS: miss u guys a lot!

Thoga00 said...

'nzugna I believe would be Suet. Suet is basically the Lard of the Cow or Sheep. Is that what is intended by 'Nzugna?