Friday, January 1, 2021

Focaccia and Pizza


Mix in a bowl:

300 grams all-purpose flour (中力粉 churikiko in Japanese)
8 grams salt

Mix in:

1 t dry yeast

Whisk gently, then add to the flour mixture:

1 t honey
1 C warm water (236 ml)

Mix with a rubber scraper until dry parts are gone and you have a sticky, wet dough. Cover the bowl with a plate and let it rise for several hours until doubled in bulk.

About an hour or two before you want to eat it, put parchment paper in a baking pan, and spread a little olive oil on the paper. Then, as if the dough were a square, pull one side up and over, then another side up and over, then another, then another. Finally, pick up the gooey mass and put it in the pan. Spread it out to reach the sides of the pan. If the dough doesn't spread well enough, let it sit for a while, then try again. 

Again, let the dough rise until doubled in size. If your house is cold, put it in the oven at 40ºC for 30-60 minutes. Remove from oven and preheat to 220ºC. Use your fingertips to poke holes all over the dough. (Sprinkle on a little olive oil. Maybe 1 T.)

Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

If you want to add relatively dry toppings (thinly sliced mushrooms, garlic, herbs, etc.), do this before baking. 

If you want to use the focaccia as a base for pizza, bake the focaccia as described above until almost golden (19 minutes or so), then remove it from the oven. (Turn it over.) Top it with sauce and cheese. Set the oven to grill and place it near the top of the oven for 8 minutes until toasted to your liking.