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Buongiorno! Buonasera! Martin is back in the studio to bake Focaccia Di Recco. This thin, crispy, cheese-filled focaccia hails from the coastal Italian region of Liguria. There, it’s baked in blazing pizza ovens, reaching blistered perfection in minutes. For a home version, we mimic the conditions as best we can by cranking the oven up as high as it will go and baking the focaccia on a thin round metal pizza pan set directly on a pizza stone or steel, which ensures that the focaccia gets crispy on both the bottom and the top.

RECIPE FOR FOCACCIA DI RECCO

Time
Prep: about 45 minutes
Bake: 20 to 24 minutes
Total: about 1 hour  
Yield: two 14" to 16" thin focacce
   
Ingredients  
3 cups plus 3 tablespoons  (370g) King Arthur ‘00’ Pizza Flour
1 cup (227g) water, warm
2 tablespoons (25g) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 teaspoons (9g) table salt
7 ounces (198g) cow or buffalo milk mozzarella cheese, torn into bite-size pieces; divided
flaky sea salt, such as Maldon; for topping

Instructions:  
Make the dough: In a stand mixer bowl, combine the flour, water, olive oil, and salt. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on medium speed until the ingredients come together into a smooth ball, about 10 minutes. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes.  

Preheat the oven to 550ºF (or as hot as it will get; some ovens only go up to 500ºF, in which case you may just have to bake the focaccia slightly longer). If using a baking stone or steel, preheat it along with the oven.

Divide and shape: Divide the dough into four equal portions (each about 157g) and gently shape each portion into a round. Cover with an inverted bowl to prevent the dough from drying out. Flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll one piece of dough into a 10" round.

Stretch the dough: Transfer the dough to a round, flat, rimless pizza pan that’s 14" to 16" in diameter. Gently stretch the dough to the edges of the pan, anchoring one side by pulling it over the pan’s edge to aid the stretching. Continue stretching until the dough is paper thin and overhanging the pan on all sides by about 1". Dot the dough with half of the cheese.

On the floured work surface, roll a second piece of dough into a 10" round, then lay over the cheese. Pulling gently, stretch the dough so that it entirely covers the cheese and extends past the edge of the pan by 1". Gently roll your rolling pin over the edge of the pan to cut off the overhanging dough, then roll the edge to form a twisted rope edge. Using your thumb and forefinger, pinch the top piece of dough in a few spots to tear open irregular holes, which will allow the steam from the cheese to escape.

Bake the focaccia: Place the pan directly on the baking stone or steel and bake until the focaccia is browned, blistered, and cracker-like on top and bottom, 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from the oven, let cool 1 minute, then slide off the pan onto a cutting board, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with flaky salt, and cut into squares or wedges. Eat while hot, then repeat with the remaining dough and cheese to make a second focaccia.  

This is best eaten hot and fresh from the oven, but you can store leftover cooled focaccia well wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 400ºF oven until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

SHOP THIS RECIPE

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Plastic Bowl Scraper: https://bakewith.us/6yst42qs

CREDITS

Host: Martin Philip
Senior Producer: Tucker Adams
Producer: Cecile Dyer
Culinary Producer: Lydia Fournier
Editor: Rob Strype
Multimedia Design: Matthew Johnson
Editorial Coordinator: Rachel Burcham
Executive Producer: Chris McLeod

CHAPTERS
0:00 Martin explains the magic behind Focaccia Di Recco
0:59 Mix the ingredients for our focaccia dough
3:27 Knead the dough until smooth
7:11 Divide into four pieces
10:51 Roll out the dough to 14 inches
18:39 Bake the Focaccia Di Recco to crispy, blistered perfection