Home made Focaccia bread!

In Puglia (mainly in Lecce) a focaccia is usually a double-crusted savory pie, stuffed inside.

In the Bari area ?focaccia? is more like what?s called focaccia in the rest of Italy. It's just one layer of dough but very soft and thick. You may be tempted to add some mozzarella on top?.but that's not the authentic way!

You can only put green olives, cherry tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and oregano!

The beauty of this focaccia is that it is so soft, because of the potato we add to the flour!

RECIPE: 4-8 servings

Ingredients
2 small potatoes
yeast
1 tsp sea salt
water (as necessary)
1 lb 1oz all purpose flour
2 tbsp extra virgin olive
20 fresh and ripe cherry tomatoes
oregano

green olives

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes and mash them in a large bowl.
Put the yeast in a cup and add warm water to dissolve it.
Pour the water with the yeast into the mashed potato. Add the all purpose flour and mix everything together.
Knead the dough. Add the salt.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hour.
Take a baking pan, oil it and spread some all purpose flour on it.
Place the dough in the baking pan and add the cherry tomatoes on top, cut in halves and the green olives. Sprinkle the focaccia with dried oregano and sea salt, then drizzle with olive oil.
Set aside again in a warm place for another 30 minutes.
Place the focaccia in the preheated oven and bake at 425 °F for about 40 minutes.

For more information about Puglia cuisine and our cooking classes in Puglia please write at info.stile@gmail.com