I bake Focaccia bread from my sourdough basic recipe...
…and get a crispy, fluffy and tasty bread. In this recipe I topp the focaccia with tomato, olives, caper, anchovy’s and parmesan cheese.
Focaccia vs. Pizza - that’s the question.
Focaccia vs. Pizza – that’s the question. The primary difference between conventional pizza and focaccia is that pizza dough uses very little leavening (yeast), resulting in a very thin, flat and flexible crust, while focaccia dough uses more leavening, causing the dough to rise significantly higher. Therefore it is so good to use the “basic sourdough recipe” when you bake a FOCACCIA.
Ok, let's start
Use the “basic sourdough recipe to make your FOCACCIA, however, I do make some changes. You find the recipe here!
Or get some inspiration first, here below!
I want the dough to be more smooth and fluid – a wet dough, so to speak. Then it becomes much easier to flatten out the dough in the oven tray.
Also I add some durum wheat “semolina”. Semolina is a coarse flour made from durum wheat, a hard type of wheat.
Make the dough the day before, but you can bake it immediately after it has fermented for four hours and folded 4 times.
Recipe Dough:
1 set of basic recipe of sourdough bread. – here is recipe(add 50 gr extra of water.)(replace whole wheat flour with 100gr durum wheat, “semolina”)
Recipe Topping:
1 can of crushed tomatoes 400 gr or 3 dl, 12 olives of good quality.2 tablespoon capers. 2 tablespoon rosemary. 6 filet of anchovy’s. 100 gr Parmesan cheese2 tablespoon of oliv oil. 2 garlic cloves. Salt & black pepper. A pinch of chili flakes.
Do This!
Pour olive oil into the bottom of the oven tray and rub in well.
Pour out the dough using a dough scraper. Press and pull out the dough into the oven tray until it becomes about 2 cm thick.
Squeeze garlic in the tomato sauce and pour in the olive oil. Add rosemary and taste with salt and black pepper. The sauce is ready!
Let your creativity come out – paint with the tomato sauce.
Add olives, parmesan, capers and anchovies.
Push your fingertips into the dough a few times (dimple the dough), so it creates “holes” in the dough. They reduce the air in the dough and prevent the bread from rising too quickly.
Bake the Focaccia at 250 degrees, first at the bottom of the oven.Also pour a glass of water into an oven tray, then the focaccia rises more easily.
After 10 minutes, raise the plate and bake another 20 minutes. Or until the surface is golden brown.
Voila, now you have a mushy bread you can enjoy. Perfect to bring with you on a picninc.
Here is your recipe card:
Sourdough Focaccia Bread
Focaccia Bread bt Chef Martino
I use the “basic sourdough recipe to make my FOCACCIA, however, I do make some changes.
I want the dough to be more smooth and fluid – a wet dough, so to speak. Then it becomes much easier to flatten out the dough in the oven tray.
Also I add some durum wheat “semolina”. Semolina is a coarse flour made from durum wheat, a hard type of wheat.
Make the dough the day before and place it in the fridge. But you can bake it immediately after it has fermented/proof and folded for four hours.
You find the recipe on the sourdough here.
- Prep Time4 hr
- Cook Time25 min
- Total Time4 hr 25 min
- Serving Size1 large oven tray
- Total Cost12 €
Ingredients
For the dough
- 470 g wheat
- 100 g durum flour (semolina)
- 200 g sourdough starter
- 350 g water
- 20 g salt
For the toping
- 1 can of crushed tomatoes
- 12 olives of good quality
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 2 tablespoon rosemary
- 6 filet of anchovy’s
- 100 gr Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoon of oliv oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- Salt & black pepper
- A pinch of chili flakes
- 2 tbsp coconut powder
- 1 cup water
Method
Preparing the dough:
First of all, you should have a freshly fed and potent sourdough to start with. If you do not have a sourdough starter, my recipe is here
Pour in water, sourdough starter and finally the flour in a dough mixer and mix together into a dough for a few minutes. The dough should be very sticky and should now rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably 60 minutes.
When the dough has rested, mix it in the dough mixer for 10-15 minutes. The dough should be glossy and stringy, and you should be able to easily “stretch” it without breaking.
Put the dough in a box with a lid and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then fold the dough into a “four-stroke”. Repeat this 3 times to build up the strength of the dough.
Leave the dough to rise at room temperature for about 1 hour or to almost double its size. Or even better, leave the dough to rise slowly in the fridge until the next day.
Preparing the tomato sauce
Squeeze garlic in the tomato sauce and pour in the olive oil. Add rosemary and taste with salt and black pepper. The sauce is ready!
Baking the Focaccia:
Pour olive oil into the bottom of the oven tray and rub in well. Pour out the dough using a dough scraper. Press and pull out the dough into the oven tray until it becomes about 2 cm thick.
Spread the tomato sauce over the dough in an even layer. Add olives, parmesan, capers and anchovies.
Push your fingertips into the dough a few times (dimple the dough), so it creates “holes” in the dough. They reduce the air in the dough and prevent the bread from rising too quickly.
Bake the Focaccia at 250 degrees, first at the bottom of the oven. Also pour a glass of water into an oven tray, then the focaccia rises more easily.
After 10 minutes, raise the plate and bake another 20 minutes. Or until the surface is golden brown.
Voila, now you have a super crunchy, tasty focaccia bread you can enjoy. Perfect!!
