this ligurian focaccia recipe is maybe the easiest yet most delicious bread recipe i’ve ever made. the intense savoury flavours, crisp exterior and pillow soft interior make this bread so satisfying, and so hard to put down once you’ve started to serve! the bread makes the perfect meal by itself, or a delightful accompaniment to an evening entertaining friends and family, served alongside some good wine and charcuterie-style nibbles.

the recipe is one by the incredible samin nosrat, author of salt fat acid heat: mastering the elements of good cooking, and is based on a traditional ligurian focaccia recipe. samin makes ligurian focaccia alongside italian baker diego in the fat episode of the four-part netflix show that accompanies her book. diego explains the importance of focaccia to the region and its origins feeding hungry dockworkers stopping quickly for lunch and a glass of wine before returning to work.

extra virgin olive oil is central to the flavour of the bread, and if you were going to splash out on anything i would totally recommend getting a fancy bottle of oil for this recipe. however, if like me you’re baking on a budget, any supermarket olive oil will still create the tastiest focaccia.

the bake

the dough for this bread takes 12-14 hours to prove, so i usually start mixing the ingredients around 6:30pm the evening before i want to bake, so that i can begin the final preparations around 8:30am the following day.

*photo: mixing the dough the night before*

firstly, you mix the water, yeast and honey to dissolve in one container, and whisk together flour and salt in your main mixing bowl to combine. although the original recipe calls for honey, to make this loaf vegan i usually swap the honey out for agave syrup, which works in a similar way to feed the yeast. once the yeast has had a couple of minutes to bloom, pour the water mixture and oil into the flour and salt and mix to combine. because the dough is so wet, rather than use my hands I tend to use a wooden spoon to mix. make sure to get to the bottom of the container to avoid any unmixed flour in the dough.

the following morning, the dough should have risen quite considerably - i’m always surprised how much the dough grows! the photos above shows the growth journey, at first mix, a few hours into the proving, and at the end of the proof.

when the dough has finished proving, it is tipped into an oiled baking tray, dimpled, and covered in a brine for 45 minutes. i’d never heard of soaking dough in brine before, and the first time i read the recipe i was convinced that i was reading it wrong as it seemed so strange to me to leave the dough covered fully in water. however, over the 45 minute period the dough continues to rise and absorb the oil and brine, ensuring the salt runs all the way through the dough.

*photo: dough covered in rosemary & salt, just before baking*

just before placing in the oven, i sprinkle salt flakes and rosemary over the top of the dough. the rosemary works perfectly alongside the olive oil and salt, and fills the kitchen with the most gorgeous smells during cooking. rosemary is one of my favourite herbs, and especially in this recipe i’m a firm believer in maximalism - more is definitely more!

when the focaccia comes out of the oven, brush a final 2-3tbsp olive oil over the top of the bread. this helps to give the dough some colour and keeps it nice and moist for days.

if i can encourage you to try any of these recipes, this would 100% be the one i would push you to make. the flavours are perfection, and it is just so simple to make - there are no fancy kitchen gadgets necessary, and it’s a no-knead dough so you won’t even need to work up a sweat mixing the ingredients. you can find the recipe for this focaccia here.

fancy giving this recipe a go? you’re in luck! i’ve put together the ideal playlist to bake along with. the songs in this playlist totally fit the focaccia vibes and are what i was listening to when i was baking this bread for the blog.

ligurian focaccia

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