Italy · Starters & bread
Focaccia genovese.
Golden and crisp outside, soft inside, with salty olive oil pools in every dimple. The Genoa classic.
Illustration created with AI
The story of focaccia.
In Genoa, focaccia (“fugassa” in the local dialect) is not just a bread: it is breakfast. Many Genoese dip it in their morning cappuccino, and bakeries start baking it at dawn.
Its secret is the brine: a mix of water, olive oil and salt poured over the dough just before baking. It collects in the dimples and gives focaccia its unmistakable flavor.
Origin: Liguria, Italy
Tips for the best focaccia.
- Flour: bread flour gives a better structure.
- Pan: a metal pan gives a crisper bottom than glass.
- Dimples: press all the way down to the pan with your fingertips.
Three steps. That’s it.
What each stage should look like.
Step 1
A wet dough.
Mix a soft dough and give it a few folds as it rises.
Step 2
Into the pan.
Spread it in an oiled pan and let it rise again.
Step 3
Dimples and brine.
Press deep dimples, pour over the brine and bake until golden.
Illustrations created with AI
Recipe
Focaccia genovese.
Prep 30 min · Cook 22 min · Total 52 min + 3 h rising
Ingredients
- bread flour
- lukewarm water
- instant yeast
- honey
- salt
- extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
- water, for the brine
- extra-virgin olive oil, for the brine
- salt, for the brine, plus flaky salt to finish
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix flour, yeast and honey with the water. Add the salt and 3 tablespoons of oil and mix until smooth. The dough will be soft and sticky.
- Cover and let rise for 1½–2 hours, doing 3 sets of folds in the first hour (lift one side of the dough and fold it over, all around the bowl).
- Oil a 9×13-inch metal pan generously. Pour in the dough and gently stretch it toward the corners. If it shrinks back, wait 10 minutes and try again. Let rise for 45 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Whisk the brine ingredients together.
- Press deep dimples all over the dough with oiled fingertips, pour over the brine and sprinkle with flaky salt. Let rest 20 minutes.
- Bake for 20–22 minutes, until deep golden. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then move to a rack.
What you’ll need.
9×13-inch metal baking pan.
For a crisp, golden bottom.
Bench scraper.
Makes handling sticky dough easy.
Flaky sea salt.
The finishing touch.
