Genovese Focaccia
The simplest focaccia dough I've posted so far. It's a weekend focaccia. If you start the starter fermenting Friday or Saturday evening around 9, the next day, before noon, you'll have fresh focaccia on the table. It's that soft focaccia soaked with the taste of olive oil that can be served in the bread basket, used to make sandwiches (that's why I also baked it in individual rectangular pans), or cut into cubes to be the base for delicious appetizers. You can make this plain focaccia, with Genovese pesto and olives, or with whatever you want on top—the dough is good.
Ingredients
550 g all-purpose flour (BL55)
450 ml water
1 teaspoon salt
7 g dry yeast + 2 pinches dry yeast
Genovese pesto
green olives
extra virgin olive oil, for greasing
Pieces: 4 individual focaccias
How to prepare genovese focaccia
- In the evening, mix 250 g flour, 250 ml water, and 2 pinches of dry yeast with a spoon. Mix just until the mixture is homogeneous. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 12 hours.
- In the morning, mix the remaining flour with the remaining water, yeast, and salt. When the water has absorbed the flour, add the starter prepared the night before and mix until homogeneous. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Knead the dough in a stand mixer (5 minutes) or with a bread machine (one cycle), until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough is very soft and sticky, but very elastic if you pull it.
- Place the dough in a bowl greased with oil and let rise for 1.5 hours.
- Generously grease 4 smaller pans, approximately 10 x 16 cm, with olive oil.
* if you wish, you can bake the focaccia in a single pan - Sprinkle plenty of flour on the work surface. Plenty, otherwise the dough will stick and you'll have trouble working with it. Turn the dough out onto the flour. Cut it into 4 equal pieces. Carefully slide a spatula under each piece and transfer it to a pan.
* if using a single pan, turn the dough from the bowl directly into it (but don't forget to grease it with oil) - With oil-coated hands, spread the dough in the pans to cover the entire surface. Press with your fingers into the dough, leaving deep indentations without piercing it.
- Now you have two options:
- if making plain focaccia, mix 1 tablespoon extra virgin oil with 1 tablespoon water and a generous pinch of salt. Mix well. Drizzle this mixture over the dough in the pans.
- if making focaccia with pesto: place about 2 generous teaspoons of Genovese pesto on each piece of dough. Spread the pesto over the dough by hand. Place halved green olives here and there. - Bake the focaccia at 220°C until golden (about 20 minutes).
The dough rests for 10 minutes after adding the starter
The kneaded dough
See how soft the dough is, yet it still holds its shape
The dough risen for 1.5 hours
Focaccia with pesto
Plain focaccia
