If you love focaccia bread you’ll absolutely need to try this focaccia Genovese! it has a crisp crust and a soft heart, a little bit like me 😉 The process of making the focaccia itself is very easy, but the dough needs to rise for a few hours and this makes the whole process a little bit longer. But it will be worth it. Trust me on this one.
This focaccia is originally form Genova, the capital of the Liguria region, but you can easily find it everywhere. Well, not everywhere, otherwise I would probably buy it, instead of baking it. Let’s say that it’s easier to find this focaccia bread in Italy than abroad, but let’s also say that you are in the right place. This is the whole reason of this food blog: cooking Italian food abroad.
Focaccia Genovese Ingredients
- Flour: I recommend to choose a flour that has 12% of proteins, you can also see if the package shows the flour’s strength, which should be W260-280. If you are not sure you can look for a “bread flour”.
- Active dry yeast: you will mix it with water and flour and let it rest for a couple of hours
- Honey: it will activate the yeast
- Extra-virgin olive oil: for the actual bread dough and some extra for the topping during the rising process and before baking it.
- Salt and your choice topping
Focaccia Genovese – Italian Focaccia Bread
Course: BakingCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy20
minutes30
minutes6
hoursThis focaccia bread has a crisp crust and a soft heart. you can top it with your favorite herbs or vegetables, or leave it neutral and use it instead of regular bread for sandwiches
Ingredients
500g Flour
300ml Water + 50ml to sprinkle the surface
4g Dry East
5g Honey
30ml Extra-Virgin olive oil + some extra for the topping
8g Salt
Topping of your choice, I choose oregano.
Directions
- First rising. Mix the yeast with 100g of flour and 60g of water. Mix it well and form a small ball with the help of a spoon. Cover the ball (not the container) with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2h, at room temperature.
- Second rising. After 2h the initial dough will be risen a bit. This is the time to move it into a bigger bowl, and to add honey, the rest of the flour, water, salt and oil. Mix well, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 3-4h. Find a warm room or let the dough rest inside the oven with the light on.
- When the dough grows double in size, it’s time to fold it. Place the dough over a well floured surface and start folding it on itself: take the right bottom side and bring it to the top side, the same for the opposite side of the dough, like shown in the How to Fold No-Knead Bread Dough
- Third rising. Spread some extra oil over a baking dish and place the dough on it. Sprinkle the focaccia surface with a pinch of salt and a few drops of oil. This will help the focaccia’s surface to not dry out during this last rising. Keep it covered with plastic wrap in a warm place. Let the dough rest and rise for about 40 minutes.
- Now you need to shape your focaccia: leave the dough on the baking dish and start pressing it down with the whole palm of your hands. Push it gently and follow the shape of the baking dish. Don’t use a rolling pin for this step.
- Preheat the oven to 230°/240°C.
- Make the typical focaccia holes over the whole surface. Press a little bit the dough with your fingers. Mix 50ml of water with 2-3 spoons of oil. Pour it gently over the whole surface and brush it also with a spoon.
- Add the topping. Choose and add your favorite topping, I added just oregano, but you can top your focaccia with rosemary, sliced onions, olives or tomatoes.
- Bake until golden, for about 12-15 minutes
Do you eat focaccia hot or cold? Focaccia will be amazing both hot or cold. I prefer it warm, so I usually warm it up in the oven, before serving. In this case, you can preheat the oven to 180°C and warm it for 5-10 minutes.
Can you freeze focaccia? Absolutely. You can freeze baked focaccia in a hermetically sealed container and it will last for a few months in the freezer. When you need to reheat focaccia, simply let it defrost at room temperature for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then reheat it in the oven preheated to 180°C degrees, until hot, about 5-10 minutes.