Genoese Focaccia
Presentation
Hello! Are you ready to discover a true treasure of Ligurian cuisine? Today I'm taking you to Genoa to savor the legendary Focaccia Genovese! Forget any other focaccia: this is a sensory experience, with its golden, crispy surface and incredibly soft, airy interior. It's more than just bread; it's a symbol of hospitality and tradition, perfect on its own or as an accompaniment to your dishes. Get ready to knead the dough and bring a slice of Liguria right to your table!
Ingredients:
- FOCACCIA
- 400g of type 1 soft wheat flour
- 220g of warm water
- 5g of dry yeast
- 10g of salt
- 15g of olive oil
- 15g of lard
- 1 teaspoon of malt or honey or sugar
- BRINE
- 50g of water
- 25g of olive oil
- 4g of salt
- a few grains of coarse salt
Preparation:
1 In a bowl, add the yeast, water, and honey to the flour and begin kneading with your hands. While the dough is still very coarse, add the salt and knead for about 1 minute. 2 Continue kneading on the work surface until the dough becomes semi-smooth, then 3 Spread it out a little, add the lard, and continue kneading until it is absorbed.
4 At this point, add the oil and continue kneading until it's absorbed. 5 Once the oil is absorbed, shape the dough into a ball and let it rise in a bowl covered with a damp cloth at room temperature for 90 minutes. 6 Once the dough has risen, sprinkle a little flour on the surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1 cm.
7 Place the rolled out dough on a well-oiled baking sheet, cover with a cloth, and let it rest. 8 After 30 minutes, stretch the dough a little more with your hands, but without quite reaching the size of the baking sheet. Cover with a cloth and let it rest. 9 After another 30 minutes, stretch the dough out to the edges, then cover and begin preparing the brine.
10 To prepare the brine, combine the water, oil, and salt in a lidded container. Close the container and shake well to emulsify the ingredients. After 20 minutes, 11 spread the brine over the entire surface of the focaccia and pat the dough with your fingers. Finally, sprinkle a few grains of coarse salt over the surface, but not too much. Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F). Once preheated, place the focaccia in the middle of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. 12 When it's evenly golden brown, remove it from the oven and place it on a rack to prevent the moisture from softening the bottom. Cut it into pieces and enjoy while it's still warm.
Advise
- Yeast : if you don't have dry yeast, you can replace it with 8g of fresh brewer's yeast.
- Lard : if you don't have lard, you can replace it with an equal weight of olive oil; this is another widely accepted variation.
- Onion : some variations also include the option of adding a few slices of onion after adding the brine.
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