Probably, in the modern world there are a very small number of people who do not know the most famous Italian dish - pizza. In ancient times, this dish was considered the food of commoners and looked quite primitive. It was a simple bread, on which a fairly simple filling was laid out - a variety of spices and spices, garlic and olive oil. In the villages, the cooking method was somewhat simplified, and just cakes were baked with olive oil and garlic in the dough. Such bread became the prototype of another, no less famous Italian dish - focaccia bread. We will consider the recipe below.
Focaccia in
Italian cuisine is traditional bread, the same as pita bread in the Caucasus, chapati in India and shelpek in Kazakhstan. There are many options for making focaccia bread, the recipe for which depends on the test. It can be either on a yeast basis, or fresh or butter. The only constant ingredients for focaccia are olive oil, flour and water.
Regarding the appearance - the shape or thickness of the cakes - there are no specific clear rules. Therefore, it all depends on the personal imagination of the cook. Tortillas can be round, oval or square, depending on the addition of additional ingredients (milk and yeast) to the dough, they will result in quite fluffy and voluminous bread, and if yeast is not used, thin cakes will come out.
A special highlight is given to the internal filling - cheese, fragrant Mediterranean spices (basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme), cherry tomatoes and others. The end result is not just bread, but something similar to pizza. That is why the difference between the two
dishes of the national cuisine of Italy is quite small
. It is believed that for pizza the main thing is the filling, and for the preparation of focaccia - the dough.
Focaccia with cheese is most common in the province of Liguria, located in northern Italy. To give a richer flavor, ingredients like green onions, parsley and black pepper are also added.
In order to treat yourself to Italian focaccia cakes, the recipe can be simplified and used to make pizza dough and the following ingredients:
- two types of cheese (parmesan, feta cheese or any other kind of hard cheese) (100 g);
- Italian herbs seasoning (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 to dissolve for 10-15 minutes. Then pour 750 g of pre-sifted flour into a separate bowl and pour water with yeast into it, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. We begin to knead the resulting mass by adding a small amount of olive oil. After that, about 1 hour, let the test stand.
After the dough is infused, put the dough on the baking sheet greased with vegetable oil and give it a rectangular shape with our hands.
Sprinkle the resulting cake with black pepper, seasoning, hard cheese (chopped into cubes and grated) and garlic (crushed through a press) mixed with olive oil.
Then you need to carefully press the filling with your palm and leave the dough to stand for 15 minutes. When it is seen that the dough rises, it can be sent for 20 minutes to the oven, preheated to 200 degrees.
When the focaccia, the recipe of which we described in this article, is ready, it can be broken by hands and served. Good appetite!