Olive and tomato flatbread
MAKES 3 FLATBREADS
In her latest cookbook, Food of the Italian South, author Katie Parla shines a light on a venerable food culture that has long been overlooked.
“Just as Naples is the capital of Italy’s thick-rimmed wood-fired pizza pies,” says Parla, “Bari and its surrounding towns are home to a beloved regional flatbread, focaccia Pugliese.”
350 ml filtered water 200 gm bread flour, plus extra for dusting 300 gm (2 cups) farina di semola rimacinata (see note) 100 gm riced boiled potato, cooled
½ tsp dried yeast
1 tsp white sugar
160 ml (⅔ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing 500 gm cherry tomatoes
About 30 black olives 1 tbsp dried oregano
1 Combine the water, both flours, potato, yeast, sugar,
50ml olive oil and 2 tsp sea salt in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead on low speed for 2 minutes, then increase speed to medium and knead for another 18 minutes until dough comes together and becomes smooth and slightly sticky.
2 Gently turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and, using a dough scraper or knife, cut it into 3 equal pieces weighing about 330gm each. Shape each piece into a ball and place each separately on three deep plates generously greased with olive oil. Brush lightly with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside at room temperature until almost tripled in size (2-3 hours).
3 Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into a 23cm-25cm ovenproof frying pan (see note), tilting pan to coat the base and 2.5cm up the side. Turn out a dough ball into the pan. Using greased fingertips, gently push and stretch dough into the shape of the pan, taking care not to tear it.
4 Gently press a third of the tomatoes, cut-side down, and about 10 olives into the dough, distributing them evenly. Cover the pan with a clean tea towel and leave dough to rise at room temperature for 20 minutes. 5 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C with the rack in the centre position. Remove the tea towel and sprinkle about
1 tsp oregano over the dough. Season to taste with salt and drizzle 2 tsp olive oil over the dough, distributing it evenly.
6 With greased fingertips, press into the dough around the tomatoes and olives to form dimples.
7 Place pan over medium-high heat. When oil starts to bubble and crackle, cook for another 3 minutes. Check the underside of the dough by gently lifting it with a spatula, it should be a very dark golden colour. If it has not browned, cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
8 Transfer pan to the oven and bake until the focaccia has a dark golden, crisp crust (13-17 minutes); focaccie brown unevenly, so having darker spots mixed with lighter parts is normal. Transfer the focaccia to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
9 Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the pan and allowing the oven to return to the desired temperature before baking the next focaccia.
Note Farina di semola rimacinata is a fine durum wheat flour also known as semolina flour. It’s available from Italian delicatessens. To get the unique texture of focaccia Pugliese, you need to bake it with intense heat from underneath. Since these conditions are difficult to replicate in a home oven, you will get the best results by using a heavy-based ovenproof frying pan. If you have three, you can prepare the focaccie simultaneously. Otherwise, bake one and refrigerate the remaining covered dough balls until you are ready to bake them, to prevent overfermenting at room temperature.