Focaccia Barese is one of those things that once tasted enters your heart directly! Water, oil, flour, tomato, and lots of oregano make this recipe delicious.
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If you have traveled to Puglia, you have certainly followed Focaccia’s aroma in almost all the streets and towns. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for? Puglia is a region of southern Italy with a wonderful territory and beaches that are the envy of the Caribbean paradises.
In all of this, it is also a culinary paradise! For this reason, it is, in my opinion, a must-visit place during a stay in Italy. Take a preview of what you can find in Puglia on the Official Tourism Website.
Focaccia Barese is one of the best-known gastronomic products of Puglia.
Focaccia Barese bakers sell it practically on all street corners and on the beach. Among Puglia’s different areas, you could also find countless customization of this traditional recipe.
Its crunchy and slightly greasy edge and its high and very soft consistency make the Focaccia Barese (that means “from Bari”) an unparalleled goodness!
Focaccia Barese is perfect as a dinner saver, to be carried on a trip, or as a healthy and genuine snack.
The recipe is quite easy and is made with brewer’s yeast, so it is also quite fast to make.
Focaccia Barese secrets lie in the Ingredients
As the Focaccia Barese is a food linked to tradition, each family passes on its recipe from generation to generation. And, with it, also passes on the little secrets to be used in the preparation.
Furthermore, many people add half a boiled and mashed potato to the dough. The advantage of this trick is to obtain a more compact and floury consistency of the Focaccia.
To try this procedure, just add the boiled potato while kneading the dough.
By the way, I like to make my Focaccia Barese without potatoes to have a lighter and more crumbly product. So for this recipe, the use of potatoes will be optional.
Secondly, an excellent oil is the main secret to making excellent focaccia. Take care to use only high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
In addition, is better to use black olives. I suggest you choose the pitted ones so you don’t have to worry about the health of your teeth!
Lastly, the tomatoes must be cherry tomatoes and must be well ripe to be properly pressed into the dough.
Needed Tools to make Focaccia Barese
The main tool consists of the pan. Probably uneasy to find abroad, it is an Iron Sheet Pan burned in the fire. This pan must never be washed with water to prevent rust. In fact, it should only be cleaned with oil to maintain its usability.
For the kneading process, you can use Food Dough Mixer if you wish. However, the processing is so simple that you can easily do it by hand. All you need is a large, high-sided container and a silicone spatula.
Few further precautions
Throughout the preparation, it is very important that the dough is worked and kept at a medium-high temperature. Put simply, beware of drafts and use only room temperature ingredients and lukewarm water.
During leavening, place the dough in a container covered with a cloth inside the oven with the light on. In this way, it will always maintain a temperature above 25 C°.
Before putting your Focaccia Barese in the oven, pour over the surface a glass of warm water mixed with 5 tablespoons of oil. This tip will make your focaccia even fluffier.
Let me give you a last personal trick of mine. Place the pan on the bottom of the oven, during the first 10 minutes of cooking. This will get you a more crunchy and crispy result.
Focaccia Barese the Original Recipe
Focaccia Barese is one of those things that once tasted enters your heart directly! Water, oil, flour, tomato, and lots of oregano make this recipe delicious.
Ingredients
- 500 g 00 flour
- 400 ml lukewarm water
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 pinch of sugar
- ½ block of fresh yeast wad
- 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 5 tablespoons of tomato sauce
- oregan
- 12 olives
- 1/2 boiled potato (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the flour into a small bowl and make a hole in the center.
- Crumble the yeast in the center and add a pinch of sugar.
- Slowly pour a little water into the center and using a silicone spatula, mix to incorporate the liquid into the flour. Proceed so little by little. When you reach 2/3 of the water, pour the salt on the edge of the bowl, being careful not to put it directly on top of the yeast. Continue to pour in the water and mix slowly until the liquid is completely absorbed into the dough. The dough must have an elastic consistency and not too liquid.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and let it rise in a mid-warm place.
- When the dough has doubled due to the leavening effect (in my case it took about 1 hour), take the iron pan.
- Turn on the oven at maximum temperature (about 240 C °)
- Pour an abundant layer of olive oil into the pan, then using the spatula greased with oil, gently pour the dough into the pan.
- Grease your fingers with oil and spread the dough with your hands to cover the entire pan.
- Pour few spoons of tomato sauce on the surface and spread it evenly on the surface.
- After washing and drying the cherry tomatoes, split them in half and place them crushed with the peel on top of the focaccia.
- Sprinkle with plenty of oregano and a pinch of salt, then add the olives.
- Finally, fill a glass of warm water, pour about 1 finger of oil, mix and pour over the whole focaccia.
- Bake on the bottom of the oven for 10 minutes at most.
- After this time, lower the temperature to 200 ° C and let it cook for 30 minutes.
- Your focaccia will be ready when, after this time, it is golden on top and crunchy enough on the bottom.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 97Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 827mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
Nutrition Data is automatically calculated and may be not accurate.
Be sure to check out these awesome recipe from Puglia:
- How to make Orecchiette Pugliesi at Home
- One Pot Cicerchie and Potatoes Soup
- Cime di Rapa & Bottarga Spaghetti
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Have made a few times, always confused at converting to cups and teaspoons and such, but, that is just me. Love it, I use a rounded Tablespoon of Active Dry Yeast, 4 cups bread flour and about 1 3/4 cups H2O, if this helps. I just put it together and add lots of yummy tomatoes and greek and regular black olives, oh and Mexican Oregano. It’s a Mexican, Italian and Greek Infusion!
Hi Walter, you’re right! Sometimes converting measurements can be stressful and confusing. That’s why we’ve created a conversion table for the main measurements, you can find it here https://www.cucchiarella.com/2020/09/14/cooking-conversion-chart/
I hope it’s helpful
Fabiana
Excited to try this recipes! How big should the pan be?
Hi Kayla, I’m glad you like the recipe. I’m sure once you try it you’ll fall in love with it. My pan is 40 cm (about 16 inches) in diameter.
I hope you like it as much as I do!!
Hello! This recipe looks fantastic. One question, when do you add the potato? I assume it should be mashed? Thank you!
Hi Ana, I’m so glad you liked my recipe.
To answer your question, if you also want to use potatoes, you need to boil one in salted water and mash it once cooked.
Then add the mashed potatoes to the dough and continue working the dough before it begins to rise.
Personally I prefer the version without potato because I like more that texture and taste better.
If you try the version with the potato too, let me know how your result will be!
Can I use regular yeast?
Hi Michael,
Yes, you can substitute dry yeast for fresh yeast in a focaccia recipe. The ratio of dry yeast to fresh yeast is 1:3.5. So, for every 1 gram of dry yeast, you will need to use 3.5 grams of fresh yeast.
Here are the steps on how to substitute dry yeast for fresh yeast in the focaccia recipe:
Dissolve the dry yeast in warm water. The water should be between 105 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Let the yeast sit for 5 minutes. This will give the yeast time to bloom.
Add the yeast mixture to the rest of the ingredients. Continue with the recipe as directed.
[…] Focaccia Barese: Soft focaccia topped with roasted tomatoes and […]
[…] in the authentic flavors of Italy with this Focaccia Barese Original Recipe from the Cucchiarella food blog. Hailing from the Puglia region, this recipe is a true classic […]
How many grams is a 1/2 block of yeast was?
Hi Pete, half block is about 12,5 grams
Would you be able to tell me where I can purchase the pan.I already have the same pan you are using in your Web site,my mother gave it to me,it came from italy
Hi Maria, I’ve just added the link to purchase the Pan to the post. I know is not that sometimes is not easy to find it abroad. Once purchased, remember to apply the correct technique for burning it: Heat the oven to the maximum temperature. Brush or grease the pan with olive oil. Leave the pan in the oven for 30 minutes and then allow the pan to cool. Then brush/grease the pan with olive oil again, leave the pan in the oven for another 30 minutes and finally let the pan cool a second time.
This looks fantastic! I love that it is made up of simple ingredients. I will definitely be making this.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’m not much of a cook, but I’ll try making this because it looks absolutely delicious.
this looks amazing!! printing it for next week’s menu!
Ive been wanting to make Focaccia bread, but really I feel I need time. Thanks for this Im keen to try it soon 🙂 You make it look so easy!
Everything about this focaccia sounds (and looks) amazing! It’s so interesting how smells can bring you right back to a special place, I can remember, not this recipe exactly, but something very similar when I visited Rome a long time ago.
This looks heavenly! I’m curious to taste it with and without potato 🙂
Wow this looks so good! Your instructions are easy to follow and written out with such detail. My kids would love to help me make something like this.
This looks so delicious. I would love to try out this recipe.
This looks so good! Seriously! What a good job there!