Focaccia Farcita (Filled Italian Hearth Bread)
photo by Fairy Nuff
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Yields:
-
1 loaf
- Serves:
- 12
ingredients
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 300 ml water
- 500 g bread flour
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
-
Filling and Topping
- 200 g gorgonzola, crumbled
- 200 g mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 1⁄4 cup fresh basil leaf
- 1⁄2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3 sprigs rosemary, stems removed
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
directions
- Sprinkle yeast into 200ml of the water in a bowl.
- Let sit 5 mins; stir to dissolve.
- Mix about 3/4 of the flour with salt together in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeasted water and olive oil.
- Mix in the flour.
- Stir in remaining water to make a sticky dough, using a wooden spoon.
- Add the remaining flour, if needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a knead-able dough.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Knead until smooth, silky and elastic, about 10mins.
- (you can add more flour if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time) Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap/tea towel.
- Leave to rise until doubled, 1 1/2- 2 hours.
- Knock back and divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
- Chafe for 5 minutes.
- Chafing: Form each piece into a ball by cupping your hands gently around it.
- Apply a light, downwards pressure to the sides, while simultaneously rotating the dough in a steady, clockwise motion.
- Continue until the dough forms an even, round shape.
- This action is called CHAFING.
- Leave to rest 10 minutes.
- Roll out each piece of dough into a 9 inch round.
- Place one round on an oiled baking sheet.
- Arrange the cheeses and basil on top, then seal the filling using the second round.
- Cover the dough loosely with a tea towel.
- Prove until doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Using your fingertips, lightly press into the surface of the dough to form dimples about 1/2 inch deep.
- Sprinkle with coarse salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Top with rosemary sprigs.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F/200°C for 30-45mins until golden.
- Drizzle immediately with remaining olive oil, and serve warm.
- Variation- use 1 lb cherry tomatoes (drizzle with 1 TB olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then bake at 400°F for 20 mins), 5 oz mozzarella and 4 oz rocket (arugula) as filling.
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Reviews
-
I tried this recipe after not baking bread in years and boy did it turn out well. I discovered that I'm not ahuge fan of gorganzola, so it was a little too gorganzolaish for my taste, but the instructions were easy to follow and it really turned out beautifully. I'll try it again maybe with a slightly milder cheese.
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I used gorgonzola with some roasted red and yellow peppers and had to leave out the basil because I didn't have any on hand. This is really a meal in itself for probably 3-4 people and because it looks so beautiful and can be made in advance, I suspect it would be a lovely party or BBQ dish. I also liked this recipe because now I know what that thing is I do to make round balls of dough (chafing)! I ended up using a pasty style of crimping the edges closed which resulted in a beautiful bread. I find gorgonzola a little strong so I might try the alternative with tomatoes, mozzerella and rocket soon.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
WaterMelon
Singapore
Hi everyone! I'm addicted to recipezaar - there are so many things that I love about this site; the wonderful people, recipes, lots of great pictures and there's always someone who'll answer my cooking/baking/general question.
I grew up in Malaysia, but now live in sunny Singapore. Both are beautiful tropical (read: HOT!) countries in Southeast Asia. There are so many good food here, especially ethnic stuff like spicy Malaysian curries (which will clear the worst blocked nose), flaky & crispy Indian roti paratha/canai, homey Chinese stir-fries, rich & decadent Asian desserts like kuih lapis (Malay many-layers cake), pineapple tarts, crumbly peanut cookies etc.
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