Focaccia quasi genovese w/whole spelt

Made by Gabriele Bonci (and then me), a very handsome Italian pizza/focaccia expert whom I can regularly see on RaiUno, in La Prova del Cuoco TV show. He is tall and big and his hands are like two loaves of bread and his fingers are three times bigger than mine.

Focaccia genovese, one of the best Italian breads, is always the one with deep dimples and wrinkles on top. Imagine how dimples by Gabriele look like!

The dough is denser than in a typical focaccia so dimples remain.

"Focaccia QUASI genovese" because the original one (without "quasi"), although similar in texture and taste, it contains lard which I never seem to have around.

So this one, Signore Bonci, came in very handy. Grazie!

Recipe adapted from La Prova del Cuoco
time: 15 min preparation + 4 hours inactive + 15 min baking

 ingredients 
3 1/3 cups (800 ml) flour; I used: 1 cup (150 g) regular flour + 2 1/3 cups ( 280 g) whole spelt flour
3/4 teaspoon (3.5 g) dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon (7 g) sugar
1 teaspoon (7 g) salt
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (275 ml) tepid water
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
5 oz (150 g) fresh mozzarella 

 directions 
Cover with extra oil (2 - 3 Tablespoons) a 30x40cm (12x16inch), half-size, baking sheet. In a bowl of your standing mixer equipped with a needle attachment sift in flour and yeast. Mix it up (with your hands). Add sugar and water. Turn the mixer on "stir" (lowest speed) for 20 seconds. Add salt. Mix it up some more (20 seconds). Pour in oil and kneed the dough for 10 minutes. With your hands, form a smooth shape.

Transfer the dough onto your oily baking sheet, move it (and flip it) around so it's all covered in oil, cover it loosely with a plastic wrap and set it in a warm place (oven turned off) for 2 hours.

Remove the wrap, turn the dough upside down. Working with your finger tips, make indention to stretch the dough to fit the form. Drop chunks of mozzarella on top. Cover the dough again with a plastic wrap, set it in a warm place for another 2 hours.

Toward the end, preheat the oven to 220C/430F (fan forced function, bottom grill only in my case). Place focaccia in the oven for about 15 minutes till lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the heat, transfer it onto a wooden board and serve.

NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES

• not often that I bake with dry yeast, but Gabriele recommended so I followed;
• during the inactive time, the dough got looser but it didn't grow much at all;
• this focaccia came out more chewy and more substantial, less dry and airy, that's why it's usually topping-free;
• but seeing the chef ripping that mozzarella into pieces...inspiring;
• salty and sweet were perfectly in balance; it tasted good just by itself but a splash of olive oil and some olives on the side weren't a bad idea after all;
• ah, the cat...no idea how she got there.