Bari-style focaccia

Name: Bari-style focaccia
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Flour 00 soft wheat 5 cups; Fresh brewer's yeast 2 tbsp; Fine salt 1 tbsp; Sugar 2 tsp; Water 1 cup; Pear tomatoes (or San Marzano) 17 oz; Baresane olives to taste; Cherry tomatoes to taste; Fine salt to taste; Oregano to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp

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Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serving: 6 people
Cost: Low
Note + leavening time (about 3 hours)

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Antonio Fiore

Focaccia is the snack par excellence throughout Puglia. Bari style focaccia can be enjoyed any time of the day: the city's bakeries prepare it nice and early and the aroma wafts throughout the streets. It is used to replace lunch or dinner, but it is also enjoyed whatever the time of day, as a snack or on the go, immersed in the feat of not staining their clothes with tomato, every bite of the way. Children take it to school, wrapped in parchment paper, as a break time snack.
People take it with them to the beach, where it becomes the meal of a long day spent lounging under an umbrella at the seaside. It is also enjoyed as a meal during football matches, in the company of friends. From morning to night, focaccia is ubiquitous in the lives of Bari locals. It is difficult to describe every olfactory sensation conveyed by Bari style focaccia, the only way to understand is to walk into a Bari bakery and buy it fresh from the oven, or try the version by Antonio Fiore at home, which you'll find here below.

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for 1 x 14 inch focaccia: Flour 00 5 cups (500 g) - soft wheat; Fresh brewer's yeast 2 tbsp (25 g); Fine salt 1 tbsp (15 g); Sugar 2 tsp (10 g); Water 1 cup (300 ml)

To season: Pear tomatoes 17 oz (500 g) - (or San Marzano); Baresane olives to taste; Cherry tomatoes to taste; Fine salt to taste; Oregano to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste

to grease the dough and the tray: Extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp (50 g)

Preparation

How to prepare Bari-style focaccia

To prepare Bari style focaccia, place the flour in a bowl 1. Place the brewers yeast in another bowl and add 1.76 oz of water 2 and stir with a teaspoon to dissolve it 3.

Add the water in which you dissolved the yeast to the flour 4, and start kneading. Now add the salt 6 and remaining water, to dissolve it 6.

Knead thoroughly by hand to obtain a homogeneous mixture 7, then add the sugar 8 and continue to stir. Place the dough on a work top 9.

Knead by hand until smooth 10, then roll the dough into a ball 11, sprinkle with a little flour and cover with a clean cloth 12. Leaven for an hour, away from drafts of air.

In the meantime, thoroughly wash the pear tomatoes and press to break them up into pieces 13. Now take a 14 inch tray that is 2.17 inches tall. Generously grease the bottom 14 and add the dough 15.

Delicately press down by hand to stretch it out 16 and pour the oil onto the surface 17, press down with your fingers to make dips and stretch the dough out 18.

Add the pressed tomatoes and spread them over the entire surface 19, interspersed with the halved tomatoes 20. Add a pinch of salt 21.

Place the olives on the focaccia 22, along with the oregano 23. Leaven for an hour and a half, then bake in a static oven preheated to 480°F (250°C) for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve your barese focaccia hot or warm 24.

Storage

Bari style focaccia can be stored at room temperature under a glass cloche, for 1-2 days.

Once baked and cold, it can be frozen whole or in portions.

Tips

If the tomatoes you are using aren't very juicy, add a little water.

Instead of fresh tomatoes, you can use peeled ones, with a little of the liquid.

If the tray is new, it needs to be treated before use: grease it and heat it in the oven.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS

There are lots of different versions of Bari style focaccia. Some add potatoes, others use semolina, in fact there isn't one single recipe for preparing the dough.

Tomatoes and baresine olives are always used for the condiment however.

Antonio Fiore of the Fiore Bakery

Antonio Fiore, owner of the Fiore Bakery in Bari, where the most typical specialties have been prepared for generations: Bari style focaccia, onion and sponzali calzone, taralli and lots of other delicacies. From the heart of Ancient Bari to your kitchen, so that you can experience a slice of exquisite local tradition.