Introduction:
The final dish of the first course of the Taming of the Shrew event – the menus called for buttery cakes, but I wanted a carb in this course that could be eaten by all guests, including vegans. One of the richest vegan breads I could think of was foccacia – and conviently, while Scappi doesn’t provide a recipe for it, he does mention it in recipe 142, book VI of the Opera.
Discussion
- According to Fiorenzo Toso, modern linguist and author of the “Little Ligurian Dictionary”, the word fugassa (a term in the Genoese dialect of fogaccia) appears for the first time in a document written in 1300, so this type of bread had a history in northern Italy well before Scappi’s career. (
- The defining feature of foccacia is the heavy inclusion of olive oil, both in the dough and as a topping (along with other flavorings, in this case salt but in others garlic, rosemary and other herbs, or even rendered pork cracklings). It’s also a high-hydration dough, which is improved by reducing the yeast and allowing a longer, slower rise time, if possible.
Focaccia
Servings
40
servingsIngredients
4kg bread flour
80-100g salt
4 packets yeast (each 2.25 tsp)
12 oz olive oil (divided)
Directions
- Mix flour, salt, and yeast. Add 12tbs olive oil. Add lukewarm (about 100°F – 110°F) water to form a fairly slack dough – hydration should be around 80% so about 800g water per kg of flour. It will be sticky.
- Rest at room temperature for at least an hour.
- Transfer dough to a clean floured surface. Stretch and fold using the following procedure: Pat into rectangle. Fold two edges to the center and seal. Fold other two edges to center and seal. Fold first two edges to center again and seal.
- Rest dough for 15 minutes.
- Repeat stretch and fold process with rested dough.
- First rise: allow to rise for 18 hours or more in the refrigerator, or 1-2 hours at room temperature. Dough will double in size.
- (If refrigerated, allow dough to come to room temperature.) Deflate dough lightly by pressing down with floured hand.
- Split dough into 4 equal pieces. Prepare 4 9”x13” baking sheets by adding 3 tbs of oil to each. Gently stretch dough to fill each sheet – it doesn’t have to perfectly reach corners. Flour lightly, cover with plastic wrap or damp towel.
- Second rise: allow foccacia to rise in the pan, at room temperature, for 1.5-2 hours (until puffy and filling the pan.)
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Dimple dough with fingers. Drizzle the surface of dough with additional oil to taste. Sprinkle with salt and/or add other toppings – flaky Maldon salt is great here, rosemary or garlic or both are traditional. Olives or everything bagel seasoning are also lovely.
- Bake until golden brown. May look done before it is – check the internal temperature of the bread, it should be about 210°F if it is fully cooked.
Sources:
Davidson, Alan, and Helen Saberi. The Oxford Companion to Food 2nd Ed. 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.
Scappi, Bartolomeo. The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570). University of Toronto Press, 2008.
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