Focaccia Ligure

Serves: Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 17½ oz (500g) water, warm (105°F to 115°F)
• 1 oz (30g) quick raise yeast
• 1 tablespoon (15g) barley malt or sugar
• 2 pounds (900g) Caputo 00 Pizza Flour
• ⅓ cup (100g) boiled mashed potatoes
• 1 tablespoon (25g) salt
• 3½ oz (100g) Extra Virgin Olive Oil Riviera Ligure DOP Academia Barilla

• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ⅓ cup (for 21 oz. of dough) Extra Virgin Olive Oil Riviera Ligure DOP Academia Barilla
• 4 teaspoons Sapori Italiani Academia Barilla, to taste

Procedures:

Place pizza stone the oven and preheat oven to 475°F. The stone needs to heat in the oven for ½ hour to 1 hour before baking focaccia.

Place the warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle in dry yeast and barley malt or sugar; stir with fork. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes.

Add flour, mashed potatoes and salt to yeast mixture and stir to blend well (dough will be sticky). Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoon increments if dough is too sticky, about 10 minutes. Form dough into ball. Oil large bowl; add dough, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm area until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough; divide the dough into pieces of about 21 oz. each, then shape each piece into round or cylindrical shapes about ½ inch thick. Using your fingers put divots in the dough and brush the dough with the water, salt and olive oil mixture (the 'solution'). Sprinkle dough with Sapori seasoning. Using a pizza peel, slide the dough onto the pre-heated pizza stone. Cook for about 18-20 minutes and serve.

Original recipe courtesy of Academia Barilla, adapted by the Sur La Table kitchen