Focaccia alla genovese – fügassa
Focaccia is a flat bread, very common in all Italian regions. In Genoa, a coastal city in North Western Italy, focaccia is particularly soft and high and it is called “fügassa”. Let’s see how to bake a great “focaccia alla genovese”.
Ingredients
- 600 gr bread flour (high protein flour, 12% or higher)
- 400 ml warm water
- 25 gr natural brewer’s yeast (8 grams if dehydrated brewer’s yeast)
- 40 ml olive oil (140 ml in total)
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 10 gr of salt
Topping
Onion rings, olives, rosemary, etc.
Process
Dissolve yeast in warm water add 1 teaspoon of sugar (sugar improves yeast activity) and then pour it into the mixer bowl. Add 40 ml of olive oil. Add flour and salt then mix using the dough hook (see picture), until the dough is smooth and all the flour has been mixed correctly.
Pour 50 ml of olive oil on the baking tray and then put the dough on it. Use part of the oil to grease the top of the dough. Put the baking tray in the oven with only the oven light on (to generate some heat) and let it rise for 1.5 hours. The dough should double its volume.
Now using your hands gently press the dough and shape it to fill the baking tray. Check that the dough surface is well oiled. Let it rise for another 30 minutes in the oven (light on).
At this point use your fingers to create “holes” in the dough (see the picture below).
Pour all over the dough the remaining 50 ml of olive oil. Add some ground sea salt. At this point you can add a “topping”, sliced tomatoes, rosemary, onion rings and so on. Let the dough rise for another 30 minutes in the oven (with the light on).
Remove the baking tray from the oven and heat it to 220-230 °C. When the oven reaches the temperature, spray some vaporized water on the dough (you can use a water sprayer). This will help the rise of your focaccia.
Put the baking tray in the hot oven and cook for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the focaccia, every oven is different and you must check it.
