The smell of hot airy bread baking with those fresh juicy red cherry tomatoes and the hypnotic smell of rosemary makes for a perfect light snack. This would be none other than Focaccia Pugliese perfect in an entree style.
Easing of Government restrictions has allowed households to have a few people over and what a good entrée to offer everyone visiting than a freshly baked focaccia with various toppings.
Making your own focaccia is the perfect light option, having a light snack instead of eating a full lunch or dinner. It can also be used as an accompaniment to an antipasto platter and dishes that include pasta or meat platters.
Foccaccia Pugliese is an Italian bread that uses the same dough as pizzas. The only difference is that with this type of bread it is seasoned with herbs and topped with salt and olive oil. Yum!
The most common topping used in this recipe is rosemary. Making your own is always best however this home style focaccia is also found at Lilyfield’s Café Lobby.
This bread is very popular in Italy and like many Italian dishes it has different variations of this recipe all over the country. Who wouldn’t want to be traveling in Italy and eating fresh focaccia on the run while taking in the beautiful romantic scenary. If you are in Australia bring a little Italy in your home.
In Bari, a port city in the Puglia regian, this recipe is most popular with cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of oregano.
This bread also has other names that include focaccia barese or focaccia alla barese. It is also quite popular and common in the cities of Brindisi, Lecce or Taranto. Light and easy to make no wonder many areas of Italy have adopted this recipe with their own variations in toppings.
Preparation time including cooking: 2 hours 40 minutes. Cooking time is only 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 300 grams flour
- 15 grams bread yeast
- 200 grams mashed potatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 150 ml lukewarm water
- Rosemary
- 10 cherry tomatoes
Instructions for Cherry Tomato Foccacia
- Flour is to be placed on the bench in a volcano style mound
- Add mashed potatoes, olive oil, bread yeast, salt and lukewarm water
- gradually as you begin to mix the dough by hand.
- Take out a large baking tray and add olive oil laying out the dough. Leave it to rise under a damp cloth for 2 hours
- If you want to check that the dough has risen sufficiently all you need to do is place a small piece of dough in a glass with water. If it floats then the rising is complete.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and press them into the surface of the dough
- Add a pinch of salt, oregano and a little bit of olive oil
- Put in the oven at 220C/430F for 30 minutes
For that added variety you can make this focaccia using Italian olives, potato, pepper, onion or eggplant.
