Focaccia
In ancient Rome, focaccias were offered to the gods and in the Renaissance period, they were consumed together with wine at wedding banquets. Like bread, but richer due to the fats, oil or lard, used for the dough or for dressing, it has always been particularly popular in Italy.
Food for travelers and fishermen, focaccia apparently owes its birth also to the long waiting times that the bakers had to face during the nights of work. Hours deceived by baking pieces of unleavened dough directly on the base of the oven, which once cooked were eaten in company perhaps stuffed with vegetables, meats, or cheeses.
The focaccia today is very widespread in Italy but two regions, in particular, contend for its authorship: Puglia and Liguria.
In Genoa as early as the 16th century, the consumption of simple focaccia with oil was familiar and also widespread in the church, especially during weddings. Even a bishop of the time, worried about the taking root of the habit, went so far as to prohibit consumption during funeral services.
There are several versions of focaccia in Liguria, these are the most traditional:
– Classic of Genoa which must be between one and two centimeters thick, shiny with oil with a crust that is never pale and clear, and the surface characterized by the presence of holes;
– Focaccia di Recco, whose birth seems to be attested in the XII century. According to a document that mentions a preparation offered to the Crusaders leaving for the Holy Land, made with a very thin sheet filled with fresh cheese;
– Focaccia di Voltri, although derived from the same ingredients as the classic focaccia, it differs in the consistency of the dough and in the cooking technique.
In Puglia, the tradition is very strong and it is widespread in all its provinces but it is in Bari (or in the Bari area in general) that it finds its “homeland”. Probably born in Altamura or Laterza, as a variant of the traditional durum wheat bread, to use the heat initially produced by the wood-burning oven for baking the bread but not yet at the ideal temperature to cook it. Therefore, before cooking the classic loaves, a piece of raw bread dough was spread on a baking tray, left to rest for a while, then seasoned, and finally cooked.
Often it is eaten only for a simple whim and it is also tasted while walking down the street regardless of the risk of getting dirty with tomato pieces. “The game is worth the candle” as they say. Today these emotions have not only a specific territoriality, and the focaccia from Bari has also reached northern Italy.
Being a product of the popular gastronomic tradition, the recipe has numerous variations mostly based on geographical location.
In its most typical version, the base of the focaccia is obtained by mixing remilled semolina, boiled potatoes, salt, yeast, and water so as to obtain a rather elastic dough, soft but not sticky, which is left to rise, spread in a round pan greased with plenty extra virgin olive oil, then left to rise again, seasoned and cooked, preferably in a wood oven.
The oil is also poured onto the surface of the focaccia together with the seasoning.
There are three variants linked to tradition:
– the focaccia par excellence which includes the presence of fresh cherry tomatoes and / or black olives from Bari,
– potato focaccia, where the entire surface is covered with potato slices about 5 mm thick,
– the white focaccia topped with coarse salt and rosemary.
Today, focaccia has undergone several changes and transformations through the addition of other ingredients placed on its surface: peppers, aubergines, onions, and other types of vegetables.
