Pain a l'Ancienne Focaccia

Focaccia is something I have been wanting to try to make, but always assumed it is difficult. The recipe is very detailed, easy to follow and has a good amount of diagrams, so it makes it relatively easy to follow along and produce a very high quality Focaccia.

There are a few confusing sections in the directions, but in the end, I don’t think it made a difference. One confusing part was whether to form the Focaccia right away and then ‘fridge overnight or form it on baking day. I waited to form on baking day and wasn’t really sure where to pick up with the directions, but I just followed the shaping method until I got something that fit the entire pan (3 spreadings). The other confusing part is when to add the toppings. The diagram says during last dimpling, but the directions say to do it right before putting in the oven. I added the toppings right before baking, but I don’t think it made a difference.

I topped the Focaccia with the Spicy Oil and the Herb Oil (half and half) on page 70. Both were very easy to make, very good and toppings I will definitely use in other applications. It would be nice if the recipe suggested how much oil to use, but I looked at how much the pictures in the recipe showed to estimate how much to use. I could imagine that using too much would make for a very greasy and oily final product.

Baking time suggests 22 to 27 minutes, but lately my oven has been cooking things faster than usual. The Focaccia was crispy and golden brown after about 18 minutes.

The Focaccia was delicious. It was nice and crispy on the top and soft, airy and tasty on the inside. During baking the oil topping seeps right into the dough to provide great flavor. This is the best Focaccia I have ever tasted. Most Focaccia I have had at restaurants were kind of soft and soggy, but this version is nice and crispy on top and provided a nice crunch. Beware that after 1 day the Focaccia is still good, but the crispy exterior is lost.

I actually used the pizza dough for this recipe. In the introduction, he says that focaccia dough is very much like pizza dough, except wetter, and after I had thawed my frozen dough, it seemed very wet indeed. I liked the method of dimpling and stretching the dough; it worked very well, and since I had all afternoon, I didn't have to bother with the oven. The dough did not rise up as much as I would like (probably because it was frozen), but it was chewy and full of bubbles, which is what I associate with focaccia. I topped it with some tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese, so it was almost pizza-like anyway, but definitely a different texture. We enjoyed it very much.