Epic Italian Focaccia – Super Fluffy and Easy to Make
Experience the perfect balance of crisp and fluffy with this Italian focaccia—one bite and you'll be hooked!
Ingredients
- 1 potato
- 250 grams/ 2 cups (spelt) flour
- 350 grams/ 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 5 grams fresh yeast
- 1 tsp sugar or maple/rice/agave syrup
- 250 grams/ 1 1/2 cups semolina
- 2 tsp salt (approximately 12 grams)
- 300 grams/ 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- herbs to your liking e.g.: mint, rosemary and thyme
Instructions
- Start by peeling, cutting and cooking the potatoes. The smaller you cut the pieces, the faster they will be ready to incorporate into the dough. While the potatoes cook, prepare a starter dough. For this, mix yeast, with sugar and 6 tbsp of water as well as 2 tbsp of flour.
- Once the potatoes are ready, mix all the ingredients. You can either do it manually or use a machine. I can recommend to mash the potatoes with a fork or masher first, this helps prevent bigger chunks to find their way into the dough.
- Let the dough rise at room temperature for an hour, cover it so that it does not dry out and stays moist. Once the dough has risen to double the size, start with folding it a few times. There is an explanation on how to do it above, so make sure to check that out. In case you have plenty of time I would suggest you fold the dough once every hour, for up to 6 hours. This is when I usually bake mine.
- Now that the initial rise is done, grease a baking pan with some olive oil (1 tbsp should suffice). I used a quiche pan as that is my favourite shape and size for my focaccia bread. Gently stretch the dough to fit the pan, ensuring it's evenly spread. Let it now rise for another 30 to 60 mins in the pan.
- Next, you want to dimple the dough. Using your fingers, press into the dough to create deep dimples all over the surface. Make your hands wet before you do that, this makes the process much easier.
- Lastly, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add any desired toppings like rosemary or cherry tomatoes. I also used mint and lemon thyme. Olives are usually very tasty in focaccias too.
- Continue by preheating the oven to 220°C (430°F) and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy your lovely homemade piece of heaven!
