Foccacia Barese Recipe
From our last trip to the south of Italy (Bari, Puglia area) I came back with many cooking ideas. But, first of all, I want to show you probably the tastiest and most popular focaccia in Italy - Focaccia Barese. It's extremely good, fluffy, tender, crunchy, flavorful, in short delicious. The whole family appreciated it, even the children. Initially, when I saw it had such simple ingredients, I didn't have high expectations. I said to myself: only tomatoes and olives, ok, it will be like a kind of bread with tomatoes ...
I tasted Focaccia Barese in its original place so I really want to show you the authentic, traditional recipe. I was inspired by the famous Panificio Fiore in Bari, where there is a huge queue of tourists every day, namely for this focaccia with tomatoes and olives.
Focaccia Barese is not necessarily very thick, as other traditional focaccia with other fillings might be. My girls told me that this is how they like it better, when it's thinner and all the flavors from the filling feel very intense, so the bread doesn't dominate the taste. But it's not as thin as a pizza. I would say this is the perfect balance between bread and filling, if you want to try an excellent focaccia, just like the original Italian one.
In a cup, combine 10g of dry yeast with 300ml of lukewarm water. Stir, leave for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine 500g of white flour with 15g of salt.
Pour over the yeast, mix with a spoon or spatula.
Add 10g of sugar (about 1 tablespoon) and start kneading the dough with your hands.
I prefer to work the dough on the table. Initially, it's slightly sticky but, in a few minutes, it gets smooth, soft and not sticky at all.
Do not dust the table with flour at all during this process.
Grease the bowl with a little olive oil, transfer the dough ball back to it, cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
While the dough is rising, prepare the tomato filling.
Wash and core the tomatoes, cut into quarters or larger slices and place in a bowl.
Then, with your hands, break the tomatoes into smaller pieces, not too small, though.
Optionally, you can also add some cherry tomatoes for an even more beautiful focaccia.
The dough has risen, cut into 2 equal pieces.
Brush with olive oil 2 round pizza trays, mine are 28-30cm in diameter.
Take a piece of dough and make the first focaccia. Place in the pan and press with your fingers to spread all over the bottom.
The second one (we will have 2 focaccia) is made 15-20 minutes after you shaped the first one.
Sprinkle with olive oil on top.
First, arrange some cherry tomatoes cut in halves. It's optional, you can skip this step.
Then spread all over the top half of the tomatoes we previously prepared.
Among the tomatoes, spread some green olives, preferably without pits.
Sprinkle with coarse salt over the whole surface.
And with dried oregano, it's a must.
Now allow the focaccia to rise in the pan for about 1 hour. Don't forget to prepare the oven before: turn on and preheat to 250 degrees C.
After 15-20 minutes since you made the first focaccia, start the second one as well.
After it has risen for 1 hour, bake in the preheated oven at 250 degrees C for 15-20 minutes, or until evenly browned.
After baking, remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack or kitchen towel. If you leave it in the pan, it will get steamy and the delicious and crunchy crust will soften.
It's great, both hot and cold. We love it.
Enjoy!
