Saturday, July 5, 2008
Focaccia is easier and less forgiving that pizza to make at home and could be just as satisfying. I do not like it when bakers attempt to turn focaccia into pizza by piling a crap load of toppings on it. It should be a simple flat bread, flavored with olive oil and some herbs as it’s base. I like to use some mashed garlic and mix it in the olive oil and maybe include some sliced tomato as an extra garnish.
The dough can be very flexible as well. Use a dough that is not too stiff and can be easily coaxed into all corners of your baking dish. The dough I used here is again Pain al ‘ancienne from Peter Reinhart’s book, “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice“. The same one used for the dandelion pizza. To prepare the pan, I oil it generously with olive oil and then plop the dough in there and start stretching it all over. It is much easier than it sounds. I then drizzle with garlic-olive oil, salt, pepper, some crushed oregano and the tomato slices which I embed in the dough.
After it is baked you can eat it as is, but to make a meal out of it, the options are endless. Serve it with cheese, olives, some greens or like we had this one for dinner with an arugula, red onion and feta salad.