savory focaccia with schmear of fresh silky hummus_IMG_5742.jpg

(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)

Oh-so-savory focaccia with schmear of fresh silky hummus – so good it should be criminal!

It Always Seems to Be About the Dough

Making focaccia that melts in your mouth

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Considering all the “abbondanza” of late about sourdoughs and baking, it’s just wonderful to be back in the regular dough.

Focaccia, focaccia … Sounds almost as hard to spell as “sfogliatella.” For me, focaccias are on the dream team of the “breads of life.” Let the word focaccia roll off your lips … but better on them! That call of the crunch can really excite. The crackles of crusty bread being sliced with a serrated knife is like a pheromonal cue. Picture yourself softly moaning in glutenous ecstasy, grinding those buttered ridges of crust under your teeth. Mmm!

Even the recent loss of my 11th crown will not deter me from such a visceral pleasure, but I am sticking to focaccias – soft, pliable airy pockets of yeasty flavor with less pain after the first bite. Starting from childhood, I believe all bread lovers have suffered much.

Have we not all endured a similar fate when battling mountainous stacks of crusty bread placed on the dining-out table? “Don’t eat too much bread or your gonna fill up before the dinner comes!” Who the &$%# cares? This month I will try to avoid being too crusty, but baby, the fresh bread rules!

Focaccia … “Mangia bene, kaka forte.”

“Eat well, s--t well” – that was my mantra when I was eating fresh anchovies in Roma. Because the hotel kitchen knew I was a total anchovy-head, they often saved me the full remains of a plating people didn’t really touch during their long lunches. I would then grab a few slabs of plain focaccia and swab down the anchovies (and the sauces) with a zest only the Dutch can empathize with. You know, like those herring eaters that drop a whole one down the gullet mimicking a hard-working cormorant.

For me, focaccia can soak up any sauce, butter, purée or gravy off any plate at any time – so great for a “clean” environment and saving on plastic bags used to previously store leftovers.

Focaccia is also fun to experiment with. I go wild when making a batch and try various toppings to finger into the bubbling, yeasty mess. Chopped olive-oiled fresh rosemary and a mix of green and Kalamata olive halves are my current go-to favorites.

After the last three focaccias I made to prep this recipe, I now know how to add a touch more water so I can get more bubbles in the dough. The recipe is uncomplicated and does not need modification. It just kneads love. (See what I did there?)

What is important is the perfection of manipulation and technique. Seeing the first rise get it up, the lurid envelope folding, the proper oily and slippery fingering – all of it so important. Then a few more proper rises and rests are part of the dough drill. Maybe I can write some erotica post column and hit a cigarette?

When baking focaccia, I have cheated or improvised in good and bad ways by adding different toppings, but the recipe stays constant. The art of focaccia improvisation is what can make the topping fun or naughty. Nowadays, I believe cooking/baking improvisations should be subtle and not overwhelm the recipe unless, of course you’re trying to impress three judges to win an apron on “MasterChef.”

Focaccia is perfect when I just want to prepare something that will last a bit longer than one meal, with the possibility of generous leftovers. The more I dabble at being a better baker, the more I love doing versions of focaccia. I totally enjoy going Frankenstein when using toppings from all over the kitchen; processed meats like prosciutto, crumbled bacon, crispy salmon skins, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, basil, sage and so on.

Today is basic training if you haven’t baked focaccia before. Team it up with some fresh hummus; you’ll do a lot of sublime snacking throughout the week armed with that combo. I knead to know, are you smellin’ what I’m tellin’?

CHEF SID’S OLIVE-ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 package “instant” fast-acting yeast (about 2 teaspoons)
  • 14 ounces warm water
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 level cups bread flour
  • 2/3 cup unstuffed, pitted and halved green olives
  • 2/3 cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
  • 2/3 cup fresh rosemary leaves, lightly chopped and mixed with a bit of olive oil

PREPARATION

  • In large bowl thoroughly combine yeast, warm water, oil, sugar, salt; whisk and then set aside 5 minutes to activate.
  • Mix in flour until even, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes.
  • Rub hands with olive oil, then take risen dough and “envelope” fold it (corners to opposing corners, four times); back in a bowl, re-cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes. After that, repeat entire step.
  • Place rounded ball of dough in larger bowl, lightly brush with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap; let rest until double in size and bubbled, about two hours.
  • Preheat oven to 430º F; cover bottom of 9" X 13" baking pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with olive oil.
  • Spread dough in pan (it will expand while baking), drizzle with olive oil, then work in rosemary and olives.
  • Place pan in oven on bottom rack and bake 23-26 minutes, until golden.

Hummus

Servings: 6

I must admit this is a great treat for the munchies; I often add chopped anchovies when people aren’t about and I’m sailing solo.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 16-ounce cans garbanzo beans, lightly drained
  • 2 ounces chopped garlic
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander or nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Cracked fresh pepper to taste
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • Pine nuts, optional

PREPARATION

  • Add all ingredients except pine nuts to blender and process until smooth and coarsely creamy, adding a bit more tahini or spices to taste as mixture blends.
  • Garnish with pine nuts.

Sid Hoeltzell is an award-winning Miami-based commercial food and beverage photographer and former “MasterChef ” contestant. He has completed more than 450 commissioned works for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, teaches food photography seminars and is a preferred fine art photographer for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and private collections.