the best focaccia in the whole damn world

A few weeks ago, one of my friends brought a piece of bread to a meeting. It was just plopped there, in front of her on the table. A single slice of bread. Just sitting there. Alone.

Can I taste it? I asked. Oh, sure, she said.

I tore off a hunk and popped a piece in my mouth. 

Fireworks. Buttery. Light. Chewy. My eyes bugged. What the heck IS this? I mouthed across the table. Focaccia, she mouthed back. I fell back against my seat, chewing slowly and fluttering my oil-slicked fingers, trying my darndest not to slide off my chair in a puddle of ecstasy. 

She gave me the recipe then, she did. Bless her heart. 

After the first batch of focaccia, this is what people said:

It’s like fried bread.
Wow.
Can I have more?
That egg sandwich was so good.
It’s so light!
Holy cow.
That focaccia is really good.
My sandwich today. . . [long sigh]. . . That bread makes the best sandwich.
Is there more?
What?! It’s all gone already? Nooooo!
Can you make more?

I made a second batch then. We ate it last night with our baked ziti. I used the focaccia to sop up all the meaty, cheese, tomato-y juices and it was so wildly delicious it almost felt unethical. 

Focaccia is supposed to be all jazzed up with herbs, cheeses, and olives and such, but so far, I’ve only made the plain version. When you find something this perfect, you don’t mess with it. 

(Not yet, at least. One of these days, I might get plucky.)

This is best eaten the same day it’s made, but leftovers are wonderful as toast, or split in half to make the most fan-TAB-ulous sandwiches. Really stale focaccia makes kickass croutons (I would imagine). Another idea: cut the focaccia into long fingers for grilled cheese stick sandwiches.

I wrote that, and then of course I had to go and make grilled cheese sandwiches for supper.

Sliced focaccia with pesto, two kinds of homemade cheese, and pepperoni, mmmm.

And then it occured to me that this focaccia, sliced like so, would make the perfect base for bruscetta. Tomato season, get here NOW.

Best Focaccia In The Whole Damn World
Adapted from my friend’s recipe.

I used a three-fourth sheet tray to bake this focaccia. The dough could fit in a regular half-sheet tray, but the focaccia will be thicker. 

If serving focaccia for a 6:00 pm supper, start the dough by 2:00 pm. 

850 grams warm water
12 grams yeast
5 grams sugar
1000 grams bread flour
20 grams salt
Olive oil

In the bowl of a stand mixer (hand mixing works fine, too!), swirl the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Add the bread flour and salt and mix on medium speed for 4-6 minutes. The dough will be soppy wet, almost like a thick pancake batter.

Pour the dough into a bowl and cover with plastic. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Using wet hands, stretch and fold the dough about 6 times. The more you stretch it, the tighter and firmer the dough will become. Repeat this 30-minute rest followed by the stretch-and-fold treatment three more times. After the final stretch and fold, let the dough rest another 30 minutes.

Coat the bottom of a three-fourth sheet tray (or a big sided baking sheet) with a lot of olive oil. Like, start with a half cup or so. Now is not the time to be scroogy.

Pour the dough into the pan and then flip the dough so the dough’s surface is coated in oil. Gently tug the dough to fit the pan; it’s fine if the dough doesn’t perfectly reach the edges. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. (I place mine in the oven on the “proof” setting.)

Once again, gently stretch the dough to fit the pan. Let it rest another 10 minutes, and, while waiting, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Now! Gently, luxuriously, deeply dimple the dough with your oiled fingers. Really get in there. If the oil has pooled in the corners of the pan, spoon it back on top of the dough, and then add more oil, if desired. Do not be shy. 

Bake the focaccia for 20-30 minutes. Cut into fat squares and devour. 

*photo credits of action shots: my younger son

This same time, years previous: two things, the quotidian (3.14.22), cherry bounce, the coronavirus diaries, puff pastry, expanded, fresh ginger cookies, the quotidian (3.14.16), raspberry ricotta cake, chocolate babka.