How to Make Focaccia Like an Award-Winning Pizza Chef
I met with the pizza champion, Lucio De Falco, and we set out in order to make the perfect focaccia, and luckily, we have done just that! With a few simple ingredients, time, and dedication, we made the best focaccia I have ever tasted.
The Focaccia bread has a beautiful golden brown bottom with an airy, fluffy inside and crunchy top. The taste of the extra virgin olive oil seeps through the bread and is absolutely divine. We split the focaccia up into three sections with separate toppings for each. The topping combination was incredible, from rosemary and salt to caramelized onions and potatoes.
Watch the Focaccia Bread video recipe:
How to Make Focaccia Like an Award-Winning Pizza Chef
Vincenzo’s Plate Tips
Use Two Different Flours (Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Blue and Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Classic)
The best way to make focaccia is with two different flours. Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Blue contains a higher protein content, which gives the dough more structure. On the other hand if you can’t find this flour, you should find an “OO” flour with medium to high protein content, which is around 11-13 grams of protein.
Fresh vs. Dry Yeast
If the yeast is fresh, add it to the water and mix. If the yeast is dry, add it directly to the Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Classic and mix. You can use either fresh or dry yeast to make focaccia. Obviously both methods result in the same delicious focaccia!
Use a Stand Mixer
Don’t want to get your hands dirty? No problem! Of course you can use a stand mixer to do the mixing for you. Add all of the ingredients into the bowl like normal.
Always Make Sure Your Dough Is Covered
Always make sure the dough is covered with saran wrap or a cloth. Otherwise, if the dough is not covered, it will quickly become dry.
How to Serve Focaccia
Move the Focaccia to a wooden chopping board and cut it into rectangles with a pair of scissors. Scissors will cut the focaccia perfectly and keep the bread airy and soft.
Focaccia
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 30x40cm baking tray 11.8 x 15.8 in
- Small metal mixing bowl
- Saran wrap
- Stand mixer
- 2 Large wooden chopping boards
- Large metal tray
- Olive oil dispensing bottle
- Spatula
- Scissors
Ingredients
For the Focaccia
- 550 grams Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Blue, 19.4 oz
- 150 grams Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Classic, 5 oz
- 15 grams EVOO, 0.5 oz
- 15 grams Salt, 1.7 oz
- 2 grams Yeast (fresh or dry), 0.07 oz
- 500 grams Water, 18 oz
For the Toppings
- Rosemary, salt, oregano
- Cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, green olives, red onions
- Caramelized onions, potatoes, oregano
Instructions
To prepare the dough:
- Add the yeast to the water and mix the yeast and water together. (If the yeast is fresh, add it to the water; if the yeast is dry, add it directly to the flour and mix.)
- Slowly add the Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Classic. Mix the flour slowly with your hands. The dough should still be a bit sticky.
- Add the Le 5 Stagioni Farina “OO” Flour Blue and mix everything together. Clean the bowl with your hands to get all of the flour.
- Add the salt and keep mixing.
- Add EVOO to get an incredible smell once it is baked!
- Mix the dough well to ensure it absorbs all of the EVOO. The high-protein flour will keep the dough well hydrated, so you don’t have to knead the dough for a long time.
- Let the dough rest at room temperature for an hour or a maximum of 2 hours.
- Then, let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- Once the dough is finished resting in the refrigerator, it will be soft and fluffy.
- Prepare two large cutting boards and place them next to each other to create a ‘bench.’
- Sprinkle some flour on the cutting board and place the dough on the bench.
- Fold the dough inwards, making a few folds, and press down on the dough.
- Once it has been folded, place the dough back into the metal bowl and wrap it in saran wrap.
- Let the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours until it becomes a high, soft dough.
- Rub EVOO on your hands and scoop the dough out onto the bench.
- Slowly stretch the dough with your fingers and make sure the dough fits across the large baking tray.
- Add EVOO to the metal tray. Move the large slab of dough onto the tray.
- Let the dough rest in the tray with saran wrap or a cloth. Don’t let the dough dry up.
- Carefully unwrap the dough. The dough should have doubled in size, and it should be very wet and wobbly.
- Add a generous amount of EVOO on top of the dough.
- Add the Toppings
- Once the dough is ready, you can start to prepare your toppings.
- Gently poke indents into the dough with all of your fingers.
- Then top the focaccia with any ingredients you want.
- Once you are done adding the toppings, add more EVOO to the top of the focaccia.
To Cook the Focaccia:
- Heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (428 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Let the focaccia cook for 20-25 minutes. It will be done when the top is golden brown.
- Pull the focaccia out of the oven and scoop it out with a spatula.
- Place the focaccia on a wooden cutting board and cut it into rectangles with a pair of scissors
Video
E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate…Enjoy!
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