Italian focaccia bread: a recipe for cooking

Probably, in the modern world there is a very small number of people who do not know the most famous Italian dish - pizza. In ancient times this dish was considered a food of commoners and looked rather primitive. It was a simple bread, on which was laid out a fairly simple filling - a variety of spices and spices, garlic and olive oil. In the villages, the method of cooking was somewhat simplified, and baked simply flat cakes with the addition of olive oil and garlic in the dough. Such bread and became the prototype of another, no less famous Italian dish - bread focaccia. The recipe will be discussed below.

Focaccia in Italian cuisine is traditional bread, the same as lavash in the Caucasus, chapati in India and shelvel in Kazakhstan. There are many options for cooking focaccia bread, the recipe of which depends on the test. It can be either on a yeast basis, or fresh or butter. The only unchangeable components for focaccia are olive oil, flour and water.

Regarding the appearance - the shape or thickness of flat cakes - there are no specific clear rules. Therefore, everything depends on the personal imagination of the cook. Cakes can be round, oval or square, depending on the addition of additional ingredients (milk and yeast) to the dough, they will result in a fairly fluffy and bulk bread, and if yeast is not used, then thin cakes will come out.

A special highlight is the internal filling - cheese, fragrant Mediterranean spices (basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme), cherry tomatoes and others. As a result, not just bread, but something that looks like pizza. That's why the difference between the two dishes of Italian cuisine is rather small . It is believed that the main thing for pizza is the filling, and for focaccia it's dough.

Focaccia with cheese is most common in the province of Liguria, located in the north of Italy. To add a richer taste, ingredients such as green onions, parsley and black ground pepper are also added.

In order to pamper yourself with Italian focaccia cakes, the recipe can be simplified and used for making pizza dough and the following ingredients:

• Two types of cheese (Parmesan, cheese or any other kind of hard cheese) (100 g);
• Seasoning "Italian herbs" (to taste);
• Garlic (1 clove);
• Olive oil (100 ml);
• black pepper.

Let's see how to make focaccia.

In warm water we put 8 g of yeast and leave it dissolved for 10-15 minutes. Then, in a separate bowl, pour 750 grams of pre-sifted flour and pour water into it with yeast, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. The resulting mass begins to mix, adding a small amount of olive oil. After that, about 1 hour, let the test stand.

After the dough has been brewed, spread the dough on a greased baking sheet and hands it into a rectangular shape.

The resulting cake sprinkled with black pepper, seasoning, hard cheese (sliced brusochkami and grated) and garlic (crushed through a press) mixed with olive oil.

Then it is necessary to press the palm gently, and leave the dough to stand for 15 minutes. When it will be seen that the dough rises, it can be sent for 20 minutes to the oven, heated to 200 degrees.

When focaccia is ready, the recipe of which we described in this article, it can be broken down and handed to the table. Enjoy your meal!