Focaccia Genovese

Part of the Italian Riviera, the region of Liguria is perhaps best known for its beautiful seaside towns (among them, the picturesque Portofino and the Cinque Terre); but, not just a pretty place, this tiny area has had huge culinary impact, giving us both basil pesto and this puffy and perfect flatbread. The specific birthplace of these game-changers is the Ligurian city of Genoa, or Genova, which is why “genovese” often appears in the dishes’ names. My wife and I visited this region on our honeymoon and bought squares of focaccia from food stands next to the harbor. The most common topping was coarse sea salt, but our favorite was rosemary.

This recipe produces a slightly crunchy focaccia al rosmarino. You can experiment with thickness by changing the size of the pan or the rising time, and with crunchiness by varying cook time. You can also experiment with more traditional toppings such as cherry tomatoes, onions, or olives. I would like to try 100% bread flour (12.7%) or 100% Caputo Chefs 00 (13%) to see how it changes the inside.

For two 30-by-20-centimeter (11.8-by-7.8-inch) pans (ideal) or one 40-by-30-centimeter (15.7-by-11.8-inch) pan:

400 g King Arthur all-purpose flour (11.7%)

200 g King Arthur bread flour (12.7%)

11 g active dry yeast

375 g warm water (85°F/30°C)

37 g extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/2 cup (110g) for pans, plus additional for brushing tops

6 g honey or malt

13 g coarse sea salt, plus another 8 g for sprinkling

16 g fresh rosemary sprigs (weight is for leaves only, no stems)

1. Dissolve the yeast in some of the warm water and let sit for 15 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.

2. In the meantime, combine the two flours.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the remaining water, honey/malt, and olive oil at low speed. I normally start this with a hand whisk.

4. Gradually add half the flour and mix. Naturally, you will likely need need to stop it once or twice to scrape down the sides.

5. Add the dissolved yeast and mix.

6. Gradually add the coarse sea salt.

7. Gradually add the remaining flour and continue to mix at a medium speed until the dough forms a ball around the hook. Again, you'll likely need to stop it once or twice to scrape down the sides.

8. Remove dough and place on a lightly floured work surface. Cover with an inverted bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes.

9. Fold dough over on itself once or twice, in lieu of real kneading. I use the lift-and-fold method here, but it doesn't matter much how.

10. Divide dough into 2 equal-weight pieces. A kitchen scale comes in handy here. Obvioiusly, if you are using a double-size pan, you don't need to do this.

11. Pour 1/4 cup (55g) of olive oil in the middle of each baking pan and spread it all around. If you're using a double-size pan, obviously use 1/2 cup (110g).

12. For each pan, place one dough on pool of oil, and flip a few times to coat both sides well.

13. Put pans in OFF oven with oven light on. Let the doughs rise there for 60 minutes. They should double in size.

14. Using your fingers, stretch each dough to fill its entire pan. I generally try to make the border taller than the middle as the border will crisp up more than the middle. Temporarily lift up each half and make sure olive oil is spread out over the entire bottom of the pan and dough in order to prevent sticking during baking.

15. Sprinkle 4 g coarse sea salt evenly over each spread dough. We recently tried 3.5g salt and, believe it or not, it did not taste as good. So weigh it carefully and use the full amount.

16. Let doughs rise another 30 minutes in the OFF oven with oven light on.

17. Drizzle a little water (100°F/38°C) on the surface of each, followed by a little olive oil.

18. Use your fingers to make deep holes all over the surface.

19. Sprinkle half of fresh rosemary sprigs over the top of each loaf.

20. Let doughs rise another 120 minutes in the OFF oven with oven light on. (The original recipe called for 75 minutes, but we prefer 120 minutes because it makes for a higher and thus fluffier focaccia.) Note that the focaccia will rise a little more while it's cooking, so don't worry too much if it's not as high as you see below.

21. Bake at 450°F/230°C on center rack until crunchy, about 18 minutes. Lately, I've been cooking it a little darker as shown below to get it crunchier on the outside, so usually 18-19 minutes depending on the oven. It's still very fluffy inside.

22. Take out loaves. Immediately remove them from their pans and place them on cooling racks, which will keep the bottoms crisp. If olive oil had been spread out well on the bottom in a prior step, they should not stick much at all. A very large cake spatula or two normal spatulas will help lift it out of the pan. Try to first loosen it all the way around before attempting to lift it out of the pan.

23. Brush a thin layer of oil on top of each (as if they didn’t already have enough oil). I plan to try a high-quality olive oil at some point for this part.

24. Let cool a few minutes. Put on a solid surface and slice with a half-moon pizza cutter (ideal) or long serated bread knife. Return pieces to cooling rack or stack on a tray very loosely so that bottoms are exposed to air (we don't want the bottoms to get soft).

25. If they won’t be eaten for a while, cover loosely with aluminum foil.

This focaccia had a final rising of 120 minutes and was cooked for 19 minutes. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside:

Be sure to lift up each half of each pan and make sure olive oil is spread out well under these doughs. You will thank me later when you attempt to lift the cooked focaccia out of the pan: