Soft and Crispy Foccaccia

This focaccia will knock your socks off.

Bread is my kryptonite. It’s my first love. I have been eating and baking bread for quite some time now. 

I’ve had quite a journey with sourdough bread, but that’s a story for another time. 

Let’s talk about yeasted bread, more specifically, focaccia. High hydration dough, lovely rise. Crunchy exterior and a soft pillowy interior. A generous helping of olive oil and fresh herbs and sea salt to season. I tried a number of different focaccia recipes, and then I came across the recipe for Soft and Crispy Focaccia. 

The first time I took a bite of this focaccia, I was transported back to eating Pizza Hut pizza, crust first, with my family as a kid. This was because the bottom of this focaccia fries in the olive oil until it’s golden brown and crispy.

The beautiful thing about this dough is that it contains the simplest of ingredients: water, sea salt/kosher salt, yeast and olive oil. The important thing to note is time and temperature of the water. You throw everything into the mixer, and bring it together at first for a minute. Then, you bring it up to medium speed for 5 minutes. Next, it needs to rest for 10 minutes, covered. Finally, you let it fly and the dough gets mixed for 12-15 minutes on medium-high. The result is an almost silky finish. If you find that it’s quite thick, I would add a bit more lukewarm water and adjust until you get a stretchy, slightly sticky dough. 

There are two rises, one in a bowl of olive oil, and then next in a sheet pan of olive oil. The first rise has taken me anywhere between 1 hour - 1.5 hours. For the second rise, I have made it on the same day, or I’ve let it sit in the fridge overnight. Same day focaccia has given me a lighter result, but next day focaccia has a bit more depth and an ever so slight yet delightful tang. The yeast has more time to do its magic when you choose the overnight version. 

Note: If you are putting your dough in the fridge overnight, just ensure that you let your focaccia sit on the counter to come up to room temperature before you put it in the oven. I’ve put it in slightly cold, and you just don’t get the same lift!

Now, the recipe recommends an 18x13-inch sheet pan or two 9x13-inch baking pans. Well, I only have a 9x13 aluminum pan, so I used that. What results is a slightly thicker focaccia that I personally love. It’s great cut up in thick pieces to eat on its own or with a little butter. It’s also fantastic cut into slices and used for sandwiches. But, I have to say I love using focaccia as a pizza base most. I’ve cooked it all the way through  then topped it with sauce and a couple of my favourite toppings and thrown it back in the oven at 400 degrees F. It needs about 10 minutes, with an optional 1-2 minute broil at the end for optimal crispness. 

One combination that I love is a base of mozzarella cheese, potatoes sliced on the mandolin and spread in rows on the pizza, bits of confit garlic dotted throughout and a little fresh thyme and olive oil. Once it’s out of the oven, it gets a generous shower of good parmesan. Chef’s kiss!