Focaccia with rosemary and red onion
Focaccia is certainly not a difficult bread to bake, provided you are prepared for one thing: the dough is quite wet and sticky. For those who own a stand mixer, this is not a problem. However, kneading by hand requires a little more patience and dexterity than ‘normal’ bread. Yet it is that high moisture content that makes this Ligurian flatbread so attractive. In short: more moisture means that the gluten in the flour can develop better, creating a firmer gluten network in which more carbon dioxide can be retained, making the bread rise more and become airier.
I kept the seasonings quite simple; rosemary and red onion rings. But olives, cherry tomatoes, fresh sage or oregano, wafer-thin slices of garlic, wafer-thin slices of potato or zucchini, strips of pepper, capers: anything is possible.
For 1 large loaf
500 g wheat flour; 10 g instant yeast; 10 g salt; about 125 ml of olive oil; 370 ml lukewarm water; tbsp rosemary needles; half a red onion, thinly sliced; half a teaspoon of sea salt flakes or fleur de sel
Also needed: oven dish or baking tray (with raised edge) of approximately 35×25 cm
Place the flour in the mixing bowl of the stand mixer or in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on one side and the salt on the other. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 250 ml of lukewarm water.
Mix everything together with the dough hook or a clean hand and add the rest of the lukewarm water. Knead the dough for 8 minutes with the stand mixer. Or knead by hand for 4 minutes, then rub a little olive oil on a clean work surface, turn the dough onto it and knead for another 8 minutes. (You have been warned, it is quite sticky, but please resist the temptation to add extra flour as this will make the focaccia dry.)
If you have kneaded with the stand mixer: lightly rub the dough ball with olive oil. If you kneaded by hand, it is probably already sufficiently greased by the oiled work surface.
Pack the bowl with the dough in a large plastic bag and tie it closed. Let the dough rise for 1 – 1.5 hours at room temperature.
Grease the oven dish or baking tray with olive oil. (If you want to be sure that the bread will release properly, you can also place a suitable piece of baking paper on the bottom and also grease it with olive oil.)
Pour the risen dough into the baking dish or onto the baking tray. Stretch it carefully with your hands, piece by piece, until the entire base is covered. Sprinkle the dough with some more olive oil. And now comes the fun part: press dimples all over the dough with your fingers. Wrap the dish or baking tray in the plastic bag, tie it closed and let it rise for another 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius, with only top and bottom heat. Remove the dough from the bag and press your fingers into the holes again. Sprinkle the dough evenly with rosemary needles, red onion rings and sea salt flakes or fleur de sel. Place the dough in the middle of the oven and bake the bread for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and done.
Remove it from the oven and immediately sprinkle the last olive oil over it. Let the focaccia cool (slightly) on a rack. You can cut it when it is still a little warm – that is even extra tasty – but preferably not when it has just come out of the oven.