Focaccia Pugliese Recipe, Chef Giuseppe Lioce

Focaccia Pugliese Recipe

The Yum List asked some of our favourite chefs around Kuala Lumpur what’s cooking in their kitchens during Malaysia’s Movement Control Order. In this series, KL chefs have kindly responded with some recipes using simple ingredients that readers can make in their own homes.

Chef Giuseppe Lioce from Nero Nero shares his recipe for:

Focaccia Pugliese

Chef Giuseppe shares, “Focaccia is one of the most popular breads in Italy and much like many Italian dishes, it has different versions all over the country. In Bari, which is a port city in the Puglia region, the most popular focaccia comes with lovely fresh cherry tomatoes, a sprinkling of oregano and olives. Other names for this type of focaccia are focaccia Barese and focaccia alla Barese.”

Ingredients

DOUGH

300 gr. semolina
700 gr. flour
200 gr. mash potato
25 gr. yeast
20 gr. salt
15 gr. sugar
20 gr. bread improver
810 gr. warm water
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

TOPPING

200 gr. peeled tomato
100 gr. cherry tomato
30 gr. olives
10 gr. oregano
10 gr. sea salt

Method for Focaccia Pugliese

1. Place the flour and the semolina on the counter in a volcano-shaped mound. In the middle, add the mashed potatoes, olive oil, bread yeast, improver, salt, sugar and finally the lukewarm water bit by bit. At the same time, begin to mix the dough by hand.

2. Mix the dough by hand for about 10 minutes. The final consistency should be similar to that of one’s earlobe.

3. On a large baking tray, add olive oil and lay the dough out, leaving it to rise under a damp cloth for about 2 hours. To check if the dough has risen sufficiently, place a small piece of dough in a glass with water. If it floats, then the rising is done.

4. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and press them into the surface of the dough. Add the olives and the peeled tomatoes cut with your hands. Add a pinch of salt, oregano and a little bit of olive oil.

5. Bake at 190 C for about 30/35 min

Stay up-to-date with the latest culinary happenings in KL here, and find other recipes similar to this one for Focaccia Pugliese you could make at home here.