Gorgeous a apéro / appetizer pre-dinner drink or instead of bread. The dough is generously soaked with olive oil, it giving its amazing taste and texture.
How to make a perfect focaccia
The recipe is very simple, a bit like a pizza dough that rises a bit more. Quick and easy.
Let the dough rise, then roll it, pour olive oil and press with you finger here and there. You’ll find below several photos to see how to get the oil penetrate into the dough, by pressing with your fingers. Don’t be afraid of the amount of oil, this is what gives focaccia its flavor and texture. Choose a good quality OVOO, focaccia will only be even tastier.
For this recipe I added cherry tomatoes for a nice presentation and a South France Provencal twist. You can replace thyme with rosemary or herbes de Provence. Some opt for a cheese filling, I haven’t tested it yet.
The story behind Focaccia
Focaccia is not French but its origin comes from Italy where it has been prepared for centuries. It is said focaccia appeared in Italian coastal regions where the sea air prevented the dough from rising a lot. Other say that it was a simple and nutritious bread to restore hard workers and fishermen.
The focaccia dough is generously soaked with olive oil, the star ingredient of this recipe. This undoubtedly explains why focaccia is widely prepared in Mediterranean regions and especially in South of France where cooking with olive oil is an art de vivre.
Focaccia is ideal for an apéro / apéritif appetizer pre-dinner drink. I admit I also like to serve focaccia instead of bread, for example with roast fish and Provencal tomatoes or barbecue, such as marinated pork tenderloin.
Mediterranean focaccia with cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
- 500 gr flour ideally T65
- 10 gr salt
- 10 gr yeast use dry yeast
- 300 ml water lukewarm
- 50 ml olive oil
- 20 cherry tomatoes
- herbs of your choice thyme or rosemary
Instructions
STEP 1
- Start by mixing yeast with lukewarm water, so that it dissolves well. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Put flour, salt and water with yeast in the bowl. Knead for 3 minutes at low speed, ideally with the dough hook of your stand mixer if you have one.
- Let it rest and rise for 30 minutes under a wet cloth in a warm place of your kitchen (or oven at 30°C / 85°F).
STEP 2
- Roll out the dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Try to get a uniform dough less than 1 cm / 0,4 inch thick.
- Pour olive oil and incorporate it into the dough with your fingers, pressing here and there as in the photos.
- Let rest and rise for an hour.
BAKE
- Heat the oven to 230°C / 450°F.
- Sprinkle herbs on the dough.
- Arrange the cherry tomatoes on the focaccia, press so that theyt sink into the dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 230°C / 450°F.
