User:Frabckpckr96/Focaccia

Etymology

The Italian word Focaccia is derived from the Latin word focus meaning "hearth, place for baking". In Ancient Rome, panis focacius was a flat bread baked on the hearth. Often, with the term focaccia, people refer to all its variants. However, with the word focaccia people most of all refer to the classic variants, the Genoese and Barese. In the Genoese dialect, the word Focaccia is referred to as Fügassa. In the Barese dialect, it is reffered to as Fecàzze.

The basic recipe is thought by some to have originated with the Etruscans. In the Italian language, the first time that the word Focaccia appears in a written document, is in the year 1300 (as written in the Piccolo Dizionario Etimologico Ligure) according to the modern linguist Fiorenzo Toso.

Fügassa Genovese

Traditional Focaccia Genovese

The Focaccia Genovese, marked by its finger-sized holes on its surface (ombrisalli in Genoese dialect), it is characterised by the fact that, ahead of the last rising period, it is brushed with a solution of extravergin olive oil, coarse salt and sometimes water.

In Genoa, Focaccia is eaten in the morning at breakfast or during the day. Traditionally, in the Ligurian Capital, focaccia is dipped in milk or in cappuccino at breakfast and eaten warm and wet.

The recipe of the original focaccia needed a dough made mostly of white flower, about 500g, a little salt, a little olive oil and the necessary water. The dough was then laid with a rolling pin on a shallow oiled baking tray. Afterwards, the typical holes were made by the baker's fingertips and some oil and salt was added at the end. Finally, the dough is put into an oven and cooked until the top got of a golden colour.

Nowadays, the recipe is different and the cooking time depends on multiple factors: the kind of oven, the temperature, the climate, humidity, the proportions of dough and the taste of the baker and of his/her clients.

Today's Ingredients

• 1kg of plain flour / all purpose flour
• 0.55lt of water
• 50g of extravirgin olive oil
• 100g of extravirgin olive oil to brush the surface
• 35g active dry yeast
• 20g coarse salt
• 20g malt extract

Today's Recipe

• Knead the dough at a temperature of about 20/22°C
• Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rise in a humid environment (for 30 minutes)
• Let the dough rise for another 30 minutes, then place it on a baking tray and spread it across the tray with your fingertips (typically a squared tray).
• Let the dough rest for another 20 minutes.
• Brush it with olive oil and water, sprinkle some coarsed salt on the surface and make finger-sized holes on its surface (allowing the oil to set in them).
• Let it rest at 40°C with 85% humidity for 2 hours.
• Bake the dough for 18-20 minutes at 230°C.

Variants

As the tradition spread, the different dialects and diverse local ingredients resulted in a large variety of bread (some may even be considered cake). Due to the number of small towns and hamlets dotting the coast of Liguria, the focaccia recipe has fragmented into countless variations (from the thin, biscuit-hard focaccia secca to the corn-flowered, oily softness of the one made in Voltri), with some bearing little resemblance to its original form. Two common toppings of Focaccia Genovese are olives and onions, with the latter being a typical meal in working-class neighbourhoods.

One of the most extreme example is a specialty called focaccia col formaggio ("focaccia with cheese"), also called Focaccia di Recco, which is made in Recco, near Genoa. Other than the name, this Recco version bears no resemblance to other focaccia varieties, having a stracchino cheese filling sandwiched between two layers of paper-thin dough.

Other examples of different versions of focaccia can still be found within the borders of the region. There are versions where the surface is covered by sauces, kinds of ham and there are sweet versions with sweet cream, fruits and gianduia cream.

Out of Liguria, focaccia comes in many regional variations and its recipe, its texture, its flavor remarkably varies from north to south of Italy. In some parts of the Northwest, for example, a popular recipe is focaccia dolce ("sweet focaccia"), consisting of a basic focaccia base and sprinkled lightly with sugar, or including raisins, honey, or other sweet ingredients. Another sweet focaccia from the Northeast is focaccia veneta ("Venetian focaccia"), a typical cake of the Venetian Easter tradition: it is based on eggs, sugar and butter (instead of olive oil and salt) and it looks quite similar to panettone or to another Venetian cake like pandoro.

In South Tyrol and in the small village of Krimml in Austria, Osterfochaz (in Krimml Fochiz) is a traditional Easter gift from godparents to their godchildren. It is made slightly thinner in the centre so that dyed eggs can be placed there.