Orders placed during the holidays will be shipped from 31/01/2026
Orders placed during the holidays will be shipped from 31/01/2026
There are a thousand possible expressions of focaccia. From Genovese Fugassa to Roman white pizza. Today we offer you the ‘classic’ recipe with rosemary and coarse salt, the one loved by everyone! It is the perfect snack for young and old alike. Served hot, it is a tasty and original solution to accompany an aperitif – if you like – with cold cuts.
Combine flour, mashed potatoes, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Then add 220 g water. Knead quickly to make a firm ball of dough.
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Add the remaining 80 g water to the dough and the salt. The dough will begin to flake, then stretch. It will show long filaments, the so-called glutinous mesh, and then become elastic, soft and compact again. The dough should be kneaded until the bowl is clean.
The oven temperature should never exceed 240°C, otherwise, the gluten will tend to disintegrate and no longer retain air inside. If it’s summer, it’s a good idea to use cold water, because the mechanical action of your hands or the hook of the kneading machine tends to heat up the dough.
Finally, add extra virgin olive oil to the dough. I suggest you put the extra virgin olive oil in last because the oil hinders the formation of the glutenous mesh.
Leave to rise for an hour at a room temperature of at least 20°C. Cover with a damp cloth or close with cling film. Move the bowl to the fridge and leave it to double in a cool place overnight or for at least 6 hours.
After the resting time, roll out the dough, simply pushing with your fingers from the inside out. Help yourself with oil or flour on the pastry board to prevent the dough from sticking. Grease the Ghisanativa griddle with plenty of extra virgin olive oil. I have a 24 cm diameter griddle, perfect for this type of preparation!
Place the disc of uncooked pastry on it and roll it out to fill the edges.
Mix a level tablespoon of water with 20 g of extra virgin olive oil and the rosemary, without any stalks. Brush the surface of the focaccia with this mixture and press down with your fingertips to make small grooves. Leave to rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Turn on the oven to 240°C in static mode. Place a Pyrex bowl with a little water in it.
The steam in the oven at the start of baking speeds up the cooking process and develops the yeast cells well.
Before baking, sprinkle a teaspoon of coarse salt over the top of the focaccia. Press with your fingertips to give the focaccia its characteristic “crater” shape.
Place Ghisanativa at the bottom of the oven on the penultimate rack. Bake for 10 minutes at 240°C static mode, another 10 minutes at 220°C, 10 minutes at 190°C and the last 5 minutes at 175°C.
Remove the focaccia from the cast iron pan and leave it to cool on a wire rack to release the moisture. It would also be fine to put it on the gas hob support. Cut it and enjoy it as soon as it has cooled.
Tip: use a bread knife with a back and forth motion to cut, not strong pressure, which could compact the inside of the focaccia and ruin the work done by the slow leavening.
“Bellunese doc, omnivorous and publicist journalist with a passion for food and wine. She graduated in Communication Sciences and then did a 10 kg master’s degree at Gambero Rosso, kilos she lost with a healthy diet and lots of walking in the mountains. The recipes she shares with us revisit traditional Italian cuisine and are repeatable even for those who are not PRO cooks.”
