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Ligurian cheese focaccia
When we think of focaccia, we often think of the pillowy
bread that was so popular in cafés in the ’80s, but
there’s more to focaccia than that – this classic
Ligurian version is the very opposite. Thin rounds of
unyeasted dough enclose the simplest of fillings, in
this case stracchino cheese. Baked crisp, golden brown
and molten in the middle, it’s the perfect example of
a dish being greater than the sum of its simple parts.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 15 mins (plus resting)
Makes 2
400 gm bread flour, plus extra for dusting
100 ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing and
drizzling
500 gm stracchino, broken into rough
2cm pieces (see note)
1 Place half the flour in a bowl with a good pinch
of fine salt. Add oil and 200ml water, and mix until
smooth, then gradually add remaining flour, a little
at a time, mixing to form a soft dough. Turn out
Ligurian cheese
foccaciaKhachapuri
This classic Georgian flatbread has an egg cracked on
top when it’s partially baked, then it’s cooked until the
egg sets to your liking. It’s served topped with a sliver
of butter – tear off bread from the edge to mix in the
butter and dunk into the egg and cheese filling.
Prep time 20 mins, cook 15 mins (plus proving)
Makes 4
450 gm bread flour, plus extra for dusting
7 gm (1 sachet) dried yeast
250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm milk
1 egg, lightly beaten, plus 1 extra, lightly
beaten, for eggwash
30 gm melted butter, plus 50gm extra, diced,
and 4 extra slices to serve
Lemon wedges, to serve
Cheese and egg filling
250 gm mozzarella, coarsely chopped
200 gm firm ricotta, crumbled
100 gm Bulgarian feta, crumbled
2 tbsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped chives, plus extra
to serve
5 eggs1 Combine flour, yeast and 1 tsp salt in a bowl,
and make a well in the centre. Add milk, egg and
melted butter to well, and mix to form a soft
dough. Turn out onto a floured work surface and
knead until smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes).
Place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat dough in
oil, cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in
a warm place until doubled in size (1-2 hours).
2 For cheese and egg filling, place cheeses,
parsley, chives and 1 lightly beaten egg in a bowl,
season to taste and mix well to combine.
3 Preheat oven to 250C and line an oven tray
with baking paper. Divide dough into 4 equal
pieces and, working with a piece at a time, roll
out to a rough 15cm x 25cm oval and leave to rest
for 15 minutes. Spread a quarter of the filling over
each oval, leaving a 2cm border. Fold in border to
form a raised edge, then pinch and twist ends
to form a boat shape. Transfer to oven tray, brush
edges of dough with eggwash and place in oven.
Reduce heat to 180C and bake for 10 minutes,
then remove from oven and make an indentation
in the centre of each boat with the back of a
spoon. Crack an egg into each, tuck a few cubes
of butter into the filling and bake, swapping and
turning trays partway through cooking, until egg
sets (4-5 minutes). Top each khachapuri with a
slice of butter, scatter with extra chives and serve
with lemon wedges.
Wine suggestion Georgian amber wine.>onto a lightly floured work surface, knead until
smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes), then wrap in
plastic wrap and stand at room temperature for
2-3 hours to rest.
2 Preheat oven to 250C. Divide dough into
4 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll out
a ball of dough to a 30cm round, then pull and
stretch it with your hands until paper thin. Place
on a lightly oiled oven tray, scatter with half the
cheese and season to taste. Repeat rolling and
stretching with another ball of dough and place
over the cheese. Pinch and crimp edges to seal,
pierce holes in the top and drizzle with oil. Season
with salt and bake until crisp and golden brown
(7-9 minutes). Keep warm while you repeat with
remaining dough and cheese. Serve hot.
NoteStracchino is available from specialist
cheese shops such as Formaggi Ocello
(ocello.com.au); if it’s unavailable substitute
torn buffalo mozzarella.
Drink suggestion Aperol Spritz.