102 GOURMET TRAVELLER
350 mlfilteredwater
200 gmbreadflour,plusextra
fordusting
300 gm(2cups)farinadisemola
rimacinata(seenote)
100 gmricedboiled
potato,cooled
½ tspdriedyeast
1 tspwhitesugar
160 ml(⅔cup)extra-virginolive
oil,plusextraforgreasing
500 gmcherrytomatoes
About 30 blackolives
1 tbspdriedoregano1 Combinethewater,both
flours,potato,yeast,sugar,
50mloliveoiland2 tspsea
saltin anelectricmixerfitted
withthedoughhook.Kneadon
lowspeedfor2 minutes,then
increasespeedtomediumand
kneadforanother 18 minutes
untildoughcomestogether
andbecomessmoothand
slightlysticky.
2 Gentlyturnoutdoughonto
a lightlyflouredsurfaceand,
usinga doughscraperorknife,
cutit into3 equalpieces
weighingabout330gmeach.
Shapeeachpieceintoa ball
andplaceeachseparatelyon
threedeepplatesgenerously
greasedwitholiveoil.Brush
lightlywitholiveoilandcover
withplasticwrap.Setasideat
roomtemperatureuntilalmost
tripledin size(2-3hours).
3 Pour2 tbspoliveoilinto
a 23cm-25cmovenprooffrying
pan(seenote),tiltingpantocoat
thebaseand2.5cmuptheside.
Turnouta doughballintothe
pan.Usinggreasedfingertips,
gentlypushandstretchdough
intotheshapeofthepan,taking
carenottotearit.
4 Gentlypressa thirdofthe
tomatoes,cut-sidedown,and
about 10 olivesintothedough,
distributingthemevenly.Cover
thepanwitha cleanteatowel
andleavedoughtoriseatroom
temperature for 20 minutes.FOCACCIAPUGLIESEOliveandtomato flatbread
MAKES3 FLATBREADS“JustasNaplesis thecapitalofItaly’sthick-rimmedwood-fired
pizzapies,”saysParla,“Barianditssurroundingtownsarehome
to a beloved regional flatbread, focaccia Pugliese.”Pictured p97.5 Meanwhile,preheattheoven
to220°Cwiththerackin the
centreposition.Removethe
teatowelandsprinkleabout
1 tsporeganooverthedough.
Seasontotastewithsaltand
drizzle2 tspoliveoiloverthe
dough,distributingit evenly.
6 Withgreasedfingertips,
pressintothedougharound
thetomatoesandolivesto
formdimples.
7 Placepanovermedium-high
heat.Whenoilstartstobubble
andcrackle,cookforanother
3 minutes.Checktheunderside
ofthedoughbygentlyliftingit
witha spatula,it shouldbea
verydarkgoldencolour.If it has
notbrowned,cookforanother
30 secondsto1 minute.
8 Transferpantotheoven
andbakeuntilthefocaccia
hasa darkgolden,crispcrust
(13-17minutes);focacciebrown
unevenly,sohavingdarker
spotsmixedwithlighterparts
is normal.Transferthefocaccia
toa wirerackandallowtocool
for5 minutesbeforeslicing.
9 Repeatwiththeremaining
dough,coolingthepanand
allowingtheoventoreturnto
thedesiredtemperaturebefore
bakingthenextfocaccia.
NoteFarinadi semolarimacinata
is a finedurumwheatflour
alsoknownassemolina
flour.It’savailablefromItalian
delicatessens.Togettheunique
textureoffocacciaPugliese,
youneedtobakeit withintense
heatfromunderneath.Since
theseconditionsaredifficult
toreplicatein a homeoven,
youwillgetthebestresultsby
usinga heavy-basedovenproof
fryingpan.If youhavethree,
youcanpreparethefocaccie
simultaneously.Otherwise,
bakeoneandrefrigeratethe
remainingcovereddoughballs
untilyouarereadytobake
them,topreventoverfermenting
at room temperature.ThisextractfromFoodofthe
ItalianSouthbyKatieParla
(PenguinBooks,$49.99,hbk)
hasbeenreproducedwith
minorGT style changes.