Pizza Bianca, also known as Focaccia
Quarantine recipe
Fun fact: Did you know that in Rome, Focaccia is also called “Pizza Bianca”? :D
As the situation requires, we must #stayhome as much as possible. And what do you do when you #stayhome? Well, most of the time your mind flies to food, and baking, and cooking. It took me only one weekend to reconnect to my passion for cooking and now brace yourselves, it’s only week 2 of self-quarantine.
I was planning to bake a Focaccia for two months now. However, a global pandemic has to occur in order for me to slow down and take the time to actually make a Focaccia. Thus, after I posted on my Instagram a picture with the result, I got many questions about the recipe. So, I’ve decided to share it with you.
The ingredients you need for the dough are the following (I doubled the quantities to bake 2 trays of Focaccia):
- 350 g flour
- 200 ml of warm water
- 10 g dried yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- one teaspoon salt
- one and a half big spoon of olive oil
First step: Mix the water, the yeast, the sugar and the salt until the yeast is completely dissolved. Leave it in a warm place for 10 minutes in order for the yeast to activate itself.
Step two: Take a bigger recipient and mix the flour with the composition resulted in step one. Add the olive oil and knead the dough until it reaches a homogeneous consistency. You can do this manually or by using a robot (I used the Mixer Artisan Elegance KitchenAid). Make sure you get a consistent and elastic dough.
Step three: Move the dough in a warm place and leave it to grow for one hour. During this time it should double its quantity. Stretch the dough using the rolling pin and your hand.
The ingredients for the topping are (for 2 trays):
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 250 ml olive oil
- one teaspoon oregano
- one teaspoon basil
- one teaspoon rosemary
- cherry tomatoes
- Feta cheese
- grated cheese
Make the topping by smashing the garlic and mixing it with some salt. Add some olive oil gradually until you get the consistency of a paste. Add the herbs and mix everything together.
As I mentioned before, I made two trays of Focaccia. On both of them, I used the topping by spreading it with a kitchen brush.
The first Focaccia was with grated cheese and cherry tomatoes and the second one was with Feta cheese and cherry tomatoes. I recommend you to use an extra amount of topping, so the Focaccia doesn't end up too dry.
Warm up the oven to 180 degrees and bake the Focaccia for 25–30 minutes. Check it from time to time to make sure it’s not getting too dry.
In normal circumstances, I would have used fresh herbs and maybe some black olives on the one with Feta cheese. However, as it is recommended all over the world, I am trying to #stayhome as much as possible and leave my house only if it’s absolutely necessary (and I encourage you to do the same).
Thus, here’s a Focaccia made out of whatever you can find in your fridge and your kitchen. You have the opportunity to get really creative with the toppings and to use up your ingredients from the fridge.
Buon appetito!
