Ligurian Focaccia | Homemade recipe

This ligurian focaccia is so fragrant, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. And it can be made at home even if you haven’t made any focaccia bread before.

📝 Ingredients

• 500 gr (3 1/3 cup) bread flour (I used Manitoba)
• 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) water (at room temperature)
• 20 gr (1 Tbsp) extravirgin olive oil (or a good italian olive oil)
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp malt (or honey)
• 10 gr (1 1/2 tsp) salt
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) water (at room temperature)
• 2 Tbsp extravirgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• extra virgin olive oil
• coarse salt

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- MAKE THE PRE-FERMENTED DOUGH (BIGA) ---
2. 2Place 150 gr (1 cup) of flour, yeast, malt and 85 ml of water in a medium bowl.
3. 3Knead until the ingredients are combined. Form a ball, make a cross cut on top and let it proof for about 2 hrs or until doubled in size.
4. 4--- MAKE THE DOUGH ---
5. 5Add the remaining flour into the bowl of a electric mixer. Add the pre-fermented dough and the rest of the water, start kneading at low speed until the ingredients have amalgamated and formed a compact dough.
6. 6While the mixer is still kneading, pour the olive oil slowly and knead until it has been absorbed.
7. 7Add the salt and continue kneading for a minute. At the end you will obtain a soft and elastic dough.
8. 8Form a ball, cover the bowl with a clean damp kitchen towel and leave to proof in a warm place until it has tripled in volume.
9. 9Sprinkle a countertop with flour. Put the dough and slowly roll it into rectangular shape (use also your hands).
10. 10Grease a 14×17″ (35x40cm) baking tray and place the dough on it. With the help of your hands try to shape the dough almost the same size of the tray. Cover with plastic film and leave it to proof for about 50 minutes.
11. 11After the resting time, you will notice that the focaccia has expanded covering almost all tray. If necessary, pull it a little towards the corners so there won’t be any part of the tray uncovered. Cover again and let it proof 30 to 40 minutes.
12. 12Coat your hands with oil and dimple the dough by pressing the pads of your fingers down, little spreading them out when they hit the bottom.
13. 13--- MAKE THE BRINE ---
14. 14Prepare the brine by mixing all ingredients on a bowl.
15. 15Pour the brine all over the focaccia. Don’t worry if it looks like is a lot of liquid. It will evaporate later during baking.
16. 16--- THE LAST PROOFING ---
17. 17Leave the focaccia rest for about an hour (while you preheat the oven). This last proofing allow the dough to absorb some of the brine, giving a wonderful taste as a result.
18. 18Once one hour has passed. Add a last drizzle of olive oil over the focaccia and sprinkle with coarse salt.
19. 19--- HOW TO BAKE ---
20. 20With a preheated oven at 250°C / 482°F. Put the tray with the focaccia in direct contact with the bottom of the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
21. 21Transfer the focaccia to the middle rack and bake for another 8-10 minutes.
22. 22To check up if it’s cooking properly, lift one corner slightly (with a knife) and see if the bottom is dry and crisp. If it still looks wet, just leave it for another couple of minutes. The top should be of an intense golden color and the bottom should be completely dry.
23. 23Take out the focaccia from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes right in the tray. Take it off from the tray and place it on a cooling rack.
24. 24Brush it with a bit of olive oil and let it cool a bit before cutting and eating.