Focaccia art: Focaccia alla genovese "Il prato fiorito"

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 250 ml water, lukewarm
• 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tbsp honey
• 10 g salt, fine
• 450 g wheat flour type 550
• ½ cube of fresh yeast
• 3 tbsp water, lukewarm, to dissolve the yeast in
• 1 handful of wheat flour type 550 for the work surface and hands
• Extra virgin olive oil for the baking tray
• 25 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 10 ml water
• Salt, coarse and crushed or salt flakes
• n. B. Vegetables su

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 30 minutes

an Italian flower meadow and vegetarian feast for the eyes

For colorful vegetables, you can use cherry tomatoes, red onions, olives, spring onions, snack peppers, capers, chives, parsley, rosemary, and dried red peppercorns. The classic “Focaccia alla Genovese” is eaten “liscia,” meaning without any additional toppings, topped with green olives, onions, or tomatoes. It becomes a true work of art when creatively topping with colorful vegetables and herbs, for example, representing a flower meadow. Focaccia alla Genovese, quantity for one baking sheet: In a food processor or mixer, combine the first four ingredients from the list of ingredients (water, olive oil, honey, and salt). Then add about half of the flour and mix everything into a dough. Dissolve the yeast in a little lukewarm water and add it to the dough. Mix everything briefly and then add the remaining flour. Now knead everything into a smooth dough and let it rise in a bowl, which you have covered with a clean kitchen towel, for 15 minutes in a warm place. Sprinkle a handful of flour onto a clean work surface and place the dough on it. Knead it briefly and vigorously, folding the sides towards the center a few times, until it is nice and elastic. Brush the baking sheet with a few tablespoons of olive oil, including the sides, and place the flatbread in the center of the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with the kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 2 hours. Don’t worry, the towel won’t stick to the yeast dough. Gently flatten the risen dough and press it to the edges and corners of the baking sheet so that it is completely covered. Use your fingertips to make several small indentations in the surface, taking care not to pierce the bottom of the baking sheet. If the dough sticks, a little flour on your fingertips will help. Then mix an emulsion of water and oil and brush it over the focaccia. This is best done with a pastry brush. A little oil and water mixture can collect in the hollows. Finally, sprinkle the focaccia with crushed coarse salt or salt flakes. Now you can add creative toppings to the focaccia, or bake it—as is—for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 230°C (450°F). For a classic focaccia, you can top it with halved cherry tomatoes, red onions, sliced ​​into crescents, or whole, pitted green olives. Focaccia art: Want to create a focaccia work of art and decorate a flower meadow? This step is also a great way to use up leftovers. Your imagination is the limit! Place the green meadow in the lower half of the baking sheet. It consists of chives and spring onions that “grow” along the bottom edge like grasses and flower stems. Slices cut lengthwise from the red onion make pretty buds. Colorful cherry tomatoes are halved to form umbels. Halved, pitted olives or pieces of bell pepper serve as flower petals. Capers, sliced ​​olives, halved cherry tomatoes, or even a few red peppercorns can serve as pistils in the center. Slices of snack peppers, with an olive slice in the center, for example, become delicate meadow flowers. Round, red onion rings with a caper in the center look like delicate dandelions. Parsley and small rosemary sprigs can be placed on the flower stems as leaves. Experience shows that the top half of the focaccia receives less topping. To keep the pieces more sparse, add a few slices of olives or tomato slices at the end. It also looks great to sprinkle a few pink peppercorns here and there on the focaccia. No matter how you top your focaccia, always bake it for 15 minutes at 230°C fan-assisted oven. Tip: I don’t recommend using top/bottom heat for the decorated focaccia, as the surface quickly darkens, and the delicate vegetables on top are prone to burning. The focaccia tastes best fresh from the oven. If stored airtight, it will still be delicious the next day. One serving of 6 has 250 calories. Happy baking, and bon appetito!