It’s Not Pizza…It’s Focaccia!

Last night we went over to a friend’s house for a dinner party for fourteen people.  It seems that we’ve become part of this group who enjoy gathering monthly at someone’s house for dinner, prior to some of them migrating south to or west for the winter.  We emailed the hostess asking what we could bring (besides wine, of course), and she wondered if we could contribute and appetizer. Could we ever!?!

We do a lot of baking at 2 gourmaniacs. Robert is pretty much in charge of that department. He’s been making bread, cakes, tarts, and pies for a long time. So he suggested a focaccia. It’s easy to make, the rising of the dough is pretty quick, and his focaccia is incredibly light and airy.

Let’s set the record straight on focaccia. Focaccia is not pizza, it is not even a Sicilian deep dish pizza. Focaccia doesn’t have cheese on it; it’s actually flat bread.  If pizza is a cousin to focaccia then schiacciata is a half brother.  Schiacciata means flattened or squished in Italian, and it is generally not as fluffy as focaccia.

So, when we arrived at our friends’ house last night with fresh-baked right-out-of-the-oven focaccia in hand, everyone thought we were bringing pizza, except for a charming older gentleman who was from Sicily and spoke perfect, fluent Italian with Rosaria. He immediately recognized our appetizer for what it was — a focaccia, and “the best one he’d had since his childhood.” Well, pizza or focaccia debate aside, our baked offering was consumed in a matter of moments. On the way out the door after dinner, people were still remarking about our light and fluffy focaccia.

Here is Robert’s recipe for simple focaccia:

Yes, he uses a “sponge” as a starter which shouldn’t be intimidating nor discourage you, as it isn’t at all complicated. Take heart and try it.

Sponge:

1 envelope of active dry yeast

2/3 cup of warm water

1 cup (140g.) of all purpose flour

Dough:

½ cup of warm water

1/3 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup of white wine

The sponge from above

21/2 cups (360g) of flour

2-3 teaspoons of kosher or sea salt

Topping:

2-3 lbs. fresh chopped tomatoes or whole canned tomatoes, chopped

1 medium onion

fresh coarsely chopped basil

1 can of chopped anchovies (or better, 5-7 whole anchovies preserved in salt).

3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

a handful of chopped black pitted olives

4 teaspoons of oregano, preferably fresh, coarsely chopped

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

Kosher or sea salt to taste

For the sponge: put the yeast and water in a mixing bowl, whisk together and let it proof for 10 minutes, then stir in the flour and let it sit, covered, for an hour. It will become puffy and bubbly.

For the dough: add the water, wine and the olive oil to the sponge, using a spatula or preferably the paddle attachment for you mixer, and blend together until smooth. Add the flour and switch over to a dough hook for you mixer, or dump the dough out onto a wood or marble/granite surface, and kneed for five minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place for about two hours (Robert puts his doughs on top of our hot water heater in the furnace room.)  The dough should be double in size when ready, elastic and soft, and it should contain a lot of air bubbles.

Turn on your oven about 30-45 minutes at 425° before you’re ready to bake. In the meantime slice the onions and gently sauté in olive oil until translucent, about 10 minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, and then take the pan off the heat and let it sit.

Take your dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured 11’X17” baking pan, stretch out the dough until it completely covers the pan, dimple the dough with your fingers, and spread the onion and tomato mixture all over the dough. Cover the dough in the pan with a piece of plastic film and let it rise about 45 minutes.

Right before placing the risen dough into the oven, toss the remaining ingredients over the dough, pressing them down either with your fingers or a fork.  Sprinkle with olive oil and salt, and place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. (Once the dough is in the oven, Robert throws a half a dozen ice cubes into a pan placed under the dough that has been in the oven. This creates steam and helps the focaccia rise and develops the crust.)

When the focaccia is golden brown, remove it from the oven and take it out of its baking pan, placing it on a rack to cool. It can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

Buon Appetito!

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