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Focaccia Pugliese
Makes 2 loaves Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 300g floury or all-purpose potatoes (such as King Edward or Maris Piper)
- 1kg ‘00’ white flour, plus extra for dusting
- 25g instant dried yeast
- 1tsp caster sugar
- 2tbsp fine salt
- 200ml olive oil
- 2 vine tomatoes
- handful of green olives, stone in sea salt
- 1tsp oregano
Method
If you visit Puglia, you’ll find focaccia in every bakery. At noon each day, people queue up to buy a slice before wandering off to the port for a walk or aperitivo.
Boil the potatoes until tender, then drain and leave to cool slightly before peeling and mashing.
Pile the flour in a mound on a clean work surface (a large wooden board works best) or put it in a mixing bowl. Make a large well in the middle and place the mashed potatoes in it. Mix well.
In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in 250ml lukewarm water and add the sugar. In a separate bowl, pour 200ml boiling water and stir in the salt.
To make the dough, gradually add first the yeast water, then the salt water, mixing with your hands until you get a smooth and slightly sticky ball of dough. Add a little more water if necessary.
Dust a little flour on the work surface and, if you mixed the dough in a bowl, transfer it to the work surface now. Knead the dough by pushing it out and folding it back a few times with the bottom of your palms. Turning the dough 90 degrees each time. Repeat the push-fold movement for 5-7 minutes (scrape in any residual dough from the work surface as you knead). You want a soft, sticky dough.
Place the dough in a large bowl. Dust some flour on top and cover with a damp tea towel, making sure there’s lots of rising space. Leave to rise for 2 hours, or until it’s doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 220C/ 425F/Gas 7. Grease the bases of 2 non-stick tart tins (30cm in diameter) with 100ml olive oil each. Divide the dough in half and spread to cover the whole base of each tin – use any oil that spills over to glaze the surface.
Roughly chop the tomatoes and rub the pieces across the focaccia, spreading out their juice. Then push the tomato pieces into the surface of the focaccia, along with the olives. Season with sea salt and oregano.
Place the tart tins in the oven for 20 minutes, until the top of the focaccia turns golden-brown. Serve hot and crunchy.
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