Focaccia Genovese
Local name: Focaccia genovese
A soft, open-crumbed focaccia dimpled deeply and flooded with salty brine and fruity olive oil.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 22 min
- Total
- 47 min
- Serves
- 8
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water, add the flour and salt, and mix to a very soft, sticky dough.
- Work in 3 tbsp of the olive oil, then do three sets of stretch and folds twenty minutes apart, oiling your hands each time.
- Oil a 30 x 40 cm tray generously, tip in the dough and coax it out with your fingertips without tearing it. Prove for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Whisk the warm water, oil and a pinch of salt together to make the characteristic brine.
- Press your spread fingers firmly right down to the tray to make the dimples, pour the brine over and scatter with flaky salt.
- Rest for 20 minutes, then bake at 220°C for 22 minutes, until golden on top and still soft inside.
The brine is what separates Genoese focaccia from every other kind: it stops a crust forming and keeps the crumb damp. In Genoa people eat it for breakfast, dunked in cappuccino.
