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Many people think that focaccia is basically naked pizza al taglio, a loose dough baked in a sheet pan. And they’re right, except for a few small details. Those details make all the difference. It’s about technique and what you’re trying to achieve. Pizza al taglio can have some pretty elaborate toppings. And the dough is usually shaped to be flat on top to accommodate the toppings. The truth is, pizza al taglio is more like a small meal. But focaccia is more like bread. It’s simpler. And it’s often not completely flat on top but dimpled really deep, so olive oil pools in the hollows and makes the crust nice and crunchy. It’s often cut in half through the side, too, so you can use the focaccia like sandwich bread.
The simplicity of focaccia puts the focus not on the toppings but on the dough itself. That’s what we’re exploring in this chapter. Different flours—from superfine tipo 00 flour to whole grain heritage wheat flours—give you different effects in the dough. Durum flour makes a chewy focaccia. Buckwheat makes it more earthy. More water in the dough loosens it, puffs it up in the oven, and makes the focaccia big and airy when baked. Less water makes the focaccia slightly firmer and denser. Playing with the flour and water alone will give you completely different flavors and textures in focaccia. If you use natural wild yeast (sourdough) instead of commercial yeast, you’ll add yet another layer of flavor.
The recipes here are intended to bring you into a closer relationship with dough, to help you understand it, and to show you the various ways that it can be hydrated, mixed, fermented, and flavored. Instead of topping the focaccia like pizza, I like to stuff it or fold various ingredients into the dough. That’s the idea behind Turmeric Sourdough Focaccia (this page), which has caramelized onions, turmeric, and poppy seeds mixed right into the dough. Focusing on the dough itself lays the foundation for you to experiment with different flours and add-ins to achieve the kind of focaccia you like best. Play around with the recipes here. The more you experiment, the more you’ll know what the outcome will be before you even heat up the oven…and that’s a beautiful thing!
At 86% hydration, this focaccia comes out superlight and fluffy with lots of air holes. The tipo 00 flour, which is milled fine like talcum powder, also makes it very soft and silky. It’s the perfect focaccia for making sandwiches. It takes 8 to 10 hours to ferment, so if you start it first thing in the morning, you can have focaccia tonight.
MAKES 1 HALF-SHEET PAN (18 BY 13 INCHES/45 BY 33 CM)
STARTER
200 grams (1⅓ cups) tipo 00 flour for pizza and bread
177 grams (¾ cup) water at 70°F (21°C)
2 grams (⅔ teaspoon) active dry yeast
DOUGH
435 grams (1¾ cups plus 1½ tablespoons) water at 70°F (21°C)
4 grams (1¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
510 grams (3⅓ cups) tipo 00 flour, plus some for dusting
17 grams (2¾ teaspoons) fine sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan and drizzling
For the starter, mix everything together in the bowl of an electric mixer with a spoon. Mix for a few minutes to make sure all the flour is wet and the starter is wet and sticky. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place (about 85°F/29°C) for 4 hours.
TO MIX AND KNEAD: For the dough, pour the water over the starter and then sprinkle on the yeast. Add the flour and then the salt. Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed for 10 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl once or twice to make sure all the flour is incorporated. The dough will be loose and wet.
TO FERMENT: Cover tightly and let the dough ferment in a warm place until doubled in size, 2 to 4 hours.
TO SHAPE: Lightly oil a half-sheet pan (18 by 13 inches/45 by 33 cm) up the sides as well. Scrape the dough onto the oiled pan. This dough is very wet and will almost pour into the pan. Use your fingers to gently press and stretch the dough to fit the pan all the way to the edges. Cover with another half-sheet pan turned upside down and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour. The dough is too wet to cover it with plastic wrap because the plastic will stick. An inverted sheet pan works well.
Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C) for at least 45 minutes.
TO BAKE: Drizzle the dough with oil, tilting the pan so it pools all over the dough. Bake until light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly and then cut into 3-inch (7 cm) squares. This focaccia is very pillowy in texture, and scissors work well for cutting it.
If you don’t have 00 flour, you can use all-purpose flour. The focaccia won’t come out quite as light and tender, but it will still be delicious. The two flours measure differently by volume, so to get the same weight if you are measuring by volume, use 1½ cups all-purpose flour in the starter and then 4 cups plus 1¼ tablespoons all-purpose flour in the dough.
FOCACCINA: Split the cooked focaccia in half through the side to make thinner pieces of sandwich bread. Fill with whatever you want, especially while the focaccia is still warm. Use whatever sandwich spreads and fillings you like, from pesto, provolone, and fresh mozzarella to prosciutto, roasted peppers, arugula, and fresh tomatoes.
I like to play around with different wheat varieties. If you think of wheat like wine grapes, it helps you understand that wheat gets its flavor from the soil, and different varieties of wheat grown in different areas will bring different flavors to your dough. Use this recipe as a template to experiment with different wheat varieties like spelt, Redeemer (a popular bread wheat in the northeastern United States), and emmer. I think you’ll be blown away with the results.
MAKES 1 HALF-SHEET PAN (18 BY 13 INCHES/45 BY 33 CM)
258 grams (2 cups) whole grain spelt or other heritage wheat bread flour, preferably fresh milled
258 grams (2 cups) King Arthur bread flour
307 grams (1⅓ cups) water at 55°F (13°C)
7 grams (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast or 14 grams (1½ tablespoons) fresh yeast
9 grams (1½ teaspoons) fine sea salt
13 grams (1 tablespoon) extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for the pan and for drizzling
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Flake salt, such as Maldon
TO MIX AND KNEAD: Put the wheat flour, bread flour, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast and mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Switch to medium speed, add the salt, and then stream in the oil. Mix until the dough is smooth and silky, about 10 minutes.
TO FERMENT: Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Lightly oil a half-sheet pan (18 by 13 inches/45 by 33 cm) and then punch down the dough and turn it out onto the oiled pan. Fold the dough over itself in thirds, cover tightly, and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes more. After 30 minutes, punch down the dough, fold it over itself again in thirds, cover tightly, and let rise in a warm spot for another 30 minutes.
TO SHAPE AND FERMENT AGAIN: Press the dough into the baking sheet, all the way to the edges of the pan, so the dough is about ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Dimple the surface all over with your fingertips. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for a final 30 minutes. The multiple risings help create lots of bubbles and flavor in the dough.
TO BAKE: Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Drizzle the top of the focaccia with oil and tilt the pan to get oil into most of the hollows. Or press the oil right into the holes with your fingertips. Scatter on the rosemary and some salt. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack and then cut into 3-inch (7 cm) squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Buckwheat has a pretty intense taste—sort of like dark roasted coffee and cinnamon. It adds great flavor to focaccia. We had some fun with this dough and shaped it into sticks (stecche) instead of squares. But you could just as easily press the dough into a big square or oval on the baking sheet. Another fun thing to try: use chestnut flour instead of buckwheat for a richer, nuttier taste.
MAKES 2 STECCHE, EACH ABOUT 1½ FEET LONG AND 2 TO 3 INCHES WIDE (½ METER BY 5 TO 7 CM)
188 grams (1⅓ cups) King Arthur bread flour, plus some for dusting
188 grams (1½ cups) buckwheat flour
5 grams (1⅔ teaspoons) fresh yeast or 2.1 grams (⅔ teaspoon) active dry yeast
233 grams (1 cup) water at 70°F (21°C)
33 grams (2½ tablespoons) olive oil, plus some for the pan and for drizzling
13 grams (1¾ teaspoons) honey
12 grams (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
Flake salt, such as Maldon, and freshly ground black pepper
TO MIX AND KNEAD: Put everything but the sea salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, and mix on medium speed for 8 minutes. Add the sea salt and mix for another 2 minutes. The dough should look smoother and feel somewhat resilient when poked.
TO FERMENT: Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough ferment at room temperature (about 70°F/21°C) until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
TO SHAPE AND FERMENT AGAIN: Line a half-sheet pan (18 by 13 inches/45 by 33 cm) with parchment paper. Use a dough scraper to scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top with flour and divide the dough in half with a bench knife. Gently pull and stretch each piece to shape it into a long oval stick about 12 to 15 inches long by 2 to 3 inches wide (30 to 38 by 5 to 7 cm). Transfer the sticks to the parchment, evenly spaced apart. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment again at room temperature until doubled in size again, 1 to 1½ hours.
TO BAKE: Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Rub some oil all over the sticks, re-shaping them into nice, plump sticks if necessary, and season them with flake salt and pepper. Bake until firm and light brown, about 20 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.
If you have more time, you can ferment the shaped stecche in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours instead of at room temperature for 1½ hours.
To top the stecche, poke deep dimples in the dough before baking it. Press your fingers almost all the way to the bottom of the dough so that your toppings (as shown in the photo on this page) will not fall off when baked and the dough puffs up. Tomatoes and garlic scapes make a nice, minimal topping. Just cut 6 to 8 cherry tomatoes in half and cut 1 garlic scape (or 1 scallion) into ½-inch to 1-inch (1.3 to 2.5 cm) pieces. Press the tomatoes and garlic scapes deep into the dimples in the dough. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with flake salt and pepper before baking. You could also top these with sliced pan-roasted leeks (or almost any species of Allium), Gaeta olives, fresh halved grapes, and whatever fresh herbs you like.
At Vetri, we serve this focaccia with all of our pasta courses. It has a lot of water in it, which puffs up the dough in the oven and makes the focaccia nice and airy. Yet, the hard durum flour gives it great chew. It’s like the most delicious sponge you could ever imagine!
MAKES 1 HALF-SHEET PAN (18 BY 13 INCHES/45 BY 33 CM)
STARTER
140 grams (1⅛ cups) durum flour
160 grams (⅔ cup) water at 55°F (13°C)
2 grams (heaping ½ teaspoon) fresh yeast or 0.8 grams (heaping ⅛ teaspoon) active dry yeast
DOUGH
550 grams (2⅓ cups) water at 55°F (13°C)
22 grams (2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) fresh yeast or 8.2 grams (heaping 2½ teaspoons) active dry yeast
680 grams (5½ cups) durum flour
22 grams (3⅔ teaspoons) fine sea salt
6 tablespoons (89 ml) olive oil, plus some for the bowl and the pan
Flake salt, such as Maldon
DAY 1: For the starter, put everything together in the bowl of an electric mixer, crumbling in the yeast if it’s fresh or sprinkling the dry yeast over the water. Mix just long enough to make sure all the flour is wet. The starter will be wet and sticky. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the starter rest at room temperature (about 70°F/21°C) for 24 hours.
DAY 2: By this time, the starter should be very lively, bubbly, and smell like sex. For the dough, pour the water into a small bowl, crumble in the yeast, and whisk together until no lumps remain or, if using dry yeast, just sprinkle the yeast over the starter.
TO MIX AND KNEAD: Add the water (or water/yeast mixture) to the starter and then add the flour and the sea salt. Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed for 6 minutes. Switch to medium-low speed and mix for another 4 minutes. The dough will be loose but should feel resilient when poked.
TO FERMENT: Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
TO SHAPE AND FERMENT AGAIN: Lightly oil a half-sheet pan (18 by 13 inches/45 by 33 cm) and turn the dough out onto the pan. Press the dough into the pan all the way to the edges, so the dough is about ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Dimple the surface of the dough all over with your fingertips. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for a final 30 minutes. The multiple risings help create lots of bubbles and flavors in the dough.
TO BAKE: Preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C). Spoon the oil over the top of the focaccia, letting some pool in the dimples. Scatter on some flake salt and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C) and bake until the focaccia is lightly browned on top, about 10 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pan until warm. Cut into 3-inch (7 cm) squares.
For a more free-form focaccia shape, you can shape the dough on a piece of parchment on the back of a baking sheet. Just form it into an oval on the parchment and then proceed with the rest of the recipe. If you want to make a larger, thicker focaccia (as shown in the photo on this page), use 1½ times the recipe and fold the dough in thirds on a work table for the second fermentation instead of pressing and fermenting the dough in the baking sheet.
Once you master focaccia, going to the store and buying sandwich bread will be a thing of the past. You can stuff focaccia with whatever you like, but I’m partial to the classic northern Italian pairing of Taleggio cheese and pancetta. Here, the filling is baked right into the dough.
MAKES 1 HALF-SHEET PAN (18 BY 13 INCHES/45 BY 33 CM)
515 grams (3¾ cups) King Arthur bread flour
307 grams (1⅓ cups) water at 55°F (13°C)
7 grams (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast or 14 grams (1½ tablespoons) fresh yeast
9 grams (1½ teaspoons) fine sea salt
13 grams (1 tablespoon) extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for the bowl, pan, and drizzling
8 ounces (227 g) Taleggio cheese, shredded
4 ounces (113 g) pancetta, very thinly sliced
Flake salt, such as Maldon
Freshly ground black pepper
TO MIX AND KNEAD: Put the flour and water in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast and mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Switch to medium speed, add the sea salt, and, stream in the oil. Mix until the dough is smooth and silky, about 10 minutes.
TO FERMENT: Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Lightly oil a half-sheet pan (18 by 13 inches/45 by 33 cm) and then punch down the dough and turn it out onto the oiled pan. Fold the dough over itself in thirds, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes more. After 30 minutes, punch down the dough, fold it over itself in thirds again, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for another 30 minutes.
TO SHAPE, STUFF, AND FERMENT AGAIN: Cut the dough in half with a bench knife and press half of the dough into the baking sheet so it is about ¼ inch (0.6 cm) thick. Roll up that piece of pressed-out dough and set it aside on your work surface. Reoil the pan and press the other half of the dough into the pan so it is about ¼ inch (0.6 cm) thick. Arrange the Taleggio and pancetta over the dough in the pan, leaving a ¼-inch (0.6 cm) border around the edge. Unroll the other half of the dough over the Taleggio and pancetta and pinch the edges to seal. Dimple the surface all over with your fingertips, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
TO BAKE: Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). If you have convection, turn it on. Drizzle the top of the focaccia with oil and sprinkle on some flake salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes (or 15 to 20 minutes with convection). Cool in the pan on a wire rack and then cut into 3-inch (7 cm) squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Claire Kopp McWilliams is our miller and baker at Vetri. She experiments with wheat varieties and creates amazing new breads for our guests. This focaccia is one of the most special things that she has come up with, and it opens the door to endless possibilities—just sub in other spices and fillings for the turmeric and onions. And if you can, use fresh-milled flour.
MAKES 1 HALF-SHEET PAN (18 BY 13 INCHES/45 BY 33 CM)
FILLING
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for the pan
1 large onion (at least 300 g), finely chopped
3 tablespoons (26 g) poppy seeds
1 tablespoon (6.5 g) ground turmeric
Generous pinch of fine sea salt
DOUGH
675 grams (5⅔ cups) high-extraction hard red wheat flour, preferably fresh milled, plus some for dusting
53 grams (⅓ cup) very active Whole Grain Sourdough Starter (this page)
473 grams (2 cups) water at 80°F (27°C)
5 grams (1¾ teaspoons) ground turmeric
16 grams (2⅔ teaspoons) fine sea salt
Flake salt, such as Maldon
DAY 1: For the filling, heat the oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the poppy seeds, turmeric, and salt and reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue cooking gently until the onions cook down and develop a little color, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely before using. This filling can be made a few days in advance and chilled. Return the filling to room temperature before mixing it into the dough. To be really precise, weigh the filling. You should have about 200 grams. If you have a lot more, use the excess for something else (like a curry dish).
TO MIX THE DOUGH: Combine the flour, starter, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed for 8 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Then add the filling, turmeric, and salt and mix on low speed for 4 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes more. The dough should be shiny and strong enough to cling to the hook, but it will feel rather wet and sticky to the touch. The exact texture will depend on the flour you use. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
TO FOLD AND FERMENT: Stretch and fold the dough by digging a dough scraper (or a wet hand) between the dough and the bowl, grabbing about one-fourth of the dough, lifting it, stretching it, and folding it over the top of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the folding motion. Repeat this stretch-and-fold process about 4 times total, until all of the dough has been folded over itself. Cover and let rest for another 15 minutes.
Repeat the stretch-and-fold move a total of 3 more times with 15-minute rests between each move, covering the dough during the rests.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap or transfer the dough to a container with an airtight lid and refrigerate the dough overnight.
DAY 2: Pull the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake it. After 2 hours, the dough should have risen some and feel slightly full of air. If it does not, give it a little more resting time at room temperature (about 70°F/21°C).
TO BAKE: Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) for at least 45 minutes. At the same time, generously flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto the flour. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour. With a light hand, repeat the stretch-and-fold move, folding pieces of dough from the edges in toward the bulk of the dough. Gently roll the dough into a ball, cover, and let rest with the seam down.
When ready to bake, lightly oil a half-sheet pan (18 by 13 inches/45 by 33 cm) up the sides as well. Flour the work surface and dough again as necessary and, working with a light hand, stretch and press the dough ball into a rectangle that roughly matches the pan. Grab and stretch the center and edges as necessary to stretch the dough into an evenly thick rectangle. When the dough is just slightly smaller than the pan, transfer the dough to the pan by flipping it over one forearm and then lifting the remainder with the back of the other hand. This action will likely finish off the stretching process as the dough is lifted and set in the pan, but tug any edges into place if it needs further adjustment. Press the dough into the pan all the way to the edges in an even layer. Use your fingertips to dimple the dough with deep indentations all over the top.
Drizzle the top with oil, tipping the pan to make sure each dimple has a little oil in it. Sprinkle with flake salt and load the focaccia into the oven. If you have convection, turn it on, and bake until the top crust is mottled yellow and brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan once for even browning. If you don’t have convection, add 5 minutes to the baking time. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, at least until it is barely warm, about 15 minutes, which gives the interior time to set up.
