On Making Focaccia

Cece Sullivan writes about focaccia:

Italian focaccia is a great introduction to making yeast breads, rewarding the senses with tactile pleasures and yeasty scents. A member of the flatbread family, these rustic peasant breads are made with few ingredients and simple preparations. Because they're thinner and lighter than dome-shaped or loaf breads, the centers will finish cooking faster, avoiding the disappointment of cutting into a denser loaf bread with a gummy, uncooked center.
Carol Field, author and expert in the Italian art of baking, describes the link between focaccia and pizza, its regional sibling. "Both are flat, round breads seasoned with oil and cooked in the oven or over embers. They're called pizza in the south and focaccia in the north."

And just like pizza, focaccia can be finished with a variety of creative toppings both savory and sweet, from a creamy paste of gorgonzola with thyme to a crunchy turban of coarse sugar.

Notes on ingredients

• All-purpose, unbleached flour which blends hard and soft wheat is preferred over bleached flour because it rises more evenly and has a better flavor. Bread flour is also a good choice. With its higher protein and gluten content, bread flour forms a strong web that holds carbon-dioxide gases released by the yeast, so breads will rise higher.

• Focaccia often begins with a starter or sponge made with a small amount of yeast, water and flour. This begins a fermentation process that develops focaccia's tangy flavor and close, even texture. Rising times for the starter can range from 30 minutes to six hours — the longer the fermentation period, the more flavorful it becomes — and it should at least double in volume before other ingredients are added. These doughs are supple and easy to work with because the yeast is distributed evenly.

Field doesn't recommend using fast-rise yeasts in bread. Although they shorten the prep time, "speed is achieved at the noticeable expense of flavor," she says. Before using yeast, check the expiration date on the package. If the starter doesn't begin to bubble and expand within 10 minutes, the yeast is probably dead. If this happens, start over with a new batch of yeast.

• Salt keeps the bread from tasting flat and dull, and its presence also strengthens the flour's gluten strands and controls the activity of the yeast. Sea salt and kosher salt have cleaner, purer flavors. Coarse sea salt sprinkled over the top of the dough before baking provides an irresistible textural contrast.

• The proportion of water in focaccia dough is higher than in other breads, making it softer and more difficult to knead. Flour your hands and kneading surface well and keep a metal dough scraper or long, narrow spatula handy for releasing dough that sticks to the surface.

• Instead of brushing the baking pan with olive oil, sprinkle with cornmeal for a crisper bottom crust that won't stick to the pan.

Making focaccia

Additional flour is mixed into the starter, then the dough is ready to knead. The process activates the gluten in the flour, making the dough stronger and more elastic. Kneading boosts the ability of the dough to rise by trapping air bubbles produced by the yeast.

Knead by hand for 5 to 10 minutes, (see our Cooking School "how-to" above) or use a heavy mixer and dough hook for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.

Once the dough is kneaded, it's ready for its first rise. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled ceramic or plastic bowl. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, which is better for holding moisture in the dough. (A dry, crusted surface will inhibit the rising action.) Let the dough rise to at least double its volume in the warmest place in the kitchen. Or place the covered bowl of dough in the refrigerator overnight, and then set at room temperature about 2 to 3 hours for the dough to finish rising.

When the first rise is complete, gently deflate the dough and knead on a lightly floured surface for about 1 minute. Then cover with a kitchen towel for 10 minutes to relax the gluten in the dough, making it easier to shape.

Focaccia dough is shaped on a shallow, rectangular baking pan. A jelly-roll pan or rimmed baking sheet would be perfect. (We found that pans made of darker steel produced a crisper bottom crust.) The dough should stretch easily, but if it begins to spring back and lose its shape, cover and let it rest 5 minutes. The dough will now go through a second rise.

One of the characteristics of focaccia is its dimpled top. Before the second rise, use the tips of your fingers to make indentations about ½-inch deep, which smoothes out the dough so it rises evenly.

Preheat the oven at least 30 minutes before baking bread. Clay baking stones distribute the oven's heat evenly and form a crisp crust, but they aren't necessary to the success of focaccia. Spraying the oven walls and floor a couple of times with water during the first 10 minutes of baking will keep thinner flatbreads from drying out during baking.

Test the focaccia by inserting a thin metal skewer or toothpick into the center of the bread, which should come out clean. Bake the bread about 5 minutes longer, if necessary.

Once the focaccia is done, remove it from the pan within five minutes to keep the bottom from becoming soggy. Loosen the sides and push a wide metal spatula under the bread, sliding it onto a metal rack. Focaccia tastes best if eaten the same day it's made.