Craving the perfect Italian-inspired flatbread? Look no further than Kenji López-Alt's romano-rich focaccia recipe. This isn't just any focaccia; it's a symphony of savory flavors and textures, each bite telling a story of olive oil, sea salt, and the perfect balance of components.
López-Alt, a renowned food scientist and cookbook author, shares his obsession with this beloved bread in his recipe for The Food Lab at Serious Eats. Let's delve into the art of crafting Kenji's exceptional focaccia bread, ensuring an elevated baking experience that's sure to impress.
Understanding Focaccia: A Brief Overview
Focaccia is an Italian flatbread with roots tracing back to ancient Egypt. It's characterized by its dimpled, oily surface, flaky edges, and shatteringly crisp top. Kenji's recipe takes this traditional bread to new heights with thoughtful tweaks and modifications.
At its core, focaccia is a wet dough, allowing it to spread out during baking and create an open, airy structure. It's the ideal canvas for varied toppings or servings as a delicious side to a hearty Italian-inspired meal.
Kenji's Romano-Rich Dough Secret
Kenji's secret weapon? Swapping out standard Parmesan for romano cheese in the dough. Romano delivers a more pungent, complex flavor profile that seeps through the bread's interior. The cheese also facilitates gluten development, creating a tender yet sturdy crumb.
Moreover, romano's saltiness allows for reduced added salt in the dough, ensuring a balanced, well-rounded flavor. It's the perfectνος pairing with the bread's prominent olive oil coastline.
Kenji's Olive Oil Mastery
Kenji's recipe emphasizes the liberating use of olive oil. Unlike other bread recipes, where oil is sparingly used, focaccia bathes in it—not just during baking, but during the dough-making process as well.
The olive oil moisturizes the dough, contributing to its distinctive texture and flavor. It also plays an essential role in the final stages of baking, creating the golden hue and distinct crisp on the surface and edges. Opt for a robust, fruity extra-virgin olive oil for the best results.
Baking Kenji's Focaccia: The Method
Kenji's recipe requires patience and moderate skill but yields truly exceptional results. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the process:
1. Dissolve yeast and flour: Combine instant yeast with your dry ingredients, then gradually add water while stirring. This activates the yeast and ensures an even distribution throughout the dough.
Bulk Fermentation: Rest and Develop
The bulk fermentation stage allows the dough to rise once, building flavor and gluten formation. Kenji's recipe calls for a 3 to 4-hour rest period at room temperature, during which the dough should nearly double in size.
During this stage, perform a series of stretch and folds every half hour. This technique helps incorporate air and strengthen the gluten network, resulting in improved texture and structure.
Divide, Rest, and Proof
After bulk fermentation, divide the dough into your desired portion sizes (the recipe yields four 9x13-inch focaccias). Let them rest briefly before gently shaping and placing them onto olive oil-greased baking sheets.
The second rise, or proofing stage, is crucial for building the bread's final volume. Cover the dough and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free environment for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until nearly doubled in size.
Dock and Top
The final step before baking involves docking: pressing dimples into the dough's surface with your fingertips. This step helps control the bread's final shape and creates the iconic focaccia look.
Just before baking, generously drizzle more olive oil over the top, and season with coarse sea salt. Add any desired toppings, such as fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, or thinly sliced onions.
Baking and Serving
Preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C) for at least 30 minutes. Place the baking sheets into the preheated oven, quickly reduce the temperature to 450°F (230°C), and bake until golden brown and crisp.
Remove from the oven, let the focaccia cool briefly, then slice and serve. The perfect accompaniment to any meal, or simply enjoy on its own—this Kenji López-Alt creation is a true labor of love.
Embrace the journey of crafting Kenji's romano-rich focaccia bread. It's an opportunity to hone your baking skills, create unforgettable tastes, and make your kitchen a place of culinary exploration. Buon appetito!