Focaccia Barese is the second most famous Italian focaccia bread from Apuglia town of Bari, after Focaccia Genovese. Made with the most simple ingredients: semolina flour, cherry tomatoes and olives it’s nothing short of epic.
What makes it unforgettable is super soft chewy dough, delicious crispy crust all topped with incredible charred tomatoes, black olives and oregano.
Traditionally it is made in round blue carbon steel pans and baked in a wood fired oven. But you can also easily make it at home.
If you want to get the results as close to authentic Focaccia Barese as possible this particular pan, which sometimes is called Focaccia Barese Pan, is highly recommended due to its excellent heat conduction quantities.
But you can certainly prepare it in a pizza pan (without holes) or on a regular baking sheet.
Ingredients & Possible Substitutes
- All purpose flour - use your trusted brand.
- Bread Flour - makes focaccia extra soft.
- Semolina Flour - this is the key ingredients that gives Focaccia Barese its chewiness and characteristic yellowish color. Re-milled fine semolina works best but it can be substituted with more coarse semolina flour.
- Instant Dry Yeast - use your trusted good quality instant dry yeast. Can be substituted with active dry yeast which needs to be first dissolved (activated) in lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. You can also use fresh yeast (quantity of dry yeast indicated in the recipe multiplied by 3 by weight).
- Water - bottled water is the best.
- Potato - boil potato with skin on. Let cool a little, then peel it and pass through a potato ricer or grate before adding to the dough.
- Salt - regular table salt, used for the dough.
- Salt Flakes - used for topping focaccia just before baking. You can use regular sea salt flakes or go extra with Maldon sea salt flakes, you’ll only need a few pinches.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - use the best quality oil you can get as it’s one of the protagonists of the recipe. You’ll need just a little bit for the dough and than a generous drizzle for the pan and for topping focaccia.
- Cherry Tomatoes - fresh, ripe cherry tomatoes, the sweeter the better.
- Black Olives - black olives strictly with pit. You can also use green olives or a mix. I don’t recommend using any kind of pitted olives as they are less flavorful, absorb brine and become soggy when cooked.
- Dried oregano - dried oregano leaves, not powder.
Tools You Need
- Small bowl (for the starter) and large bowl (for the dough).
- Standing mixer (optional) - this focaccia can be easily kneaded by hand.
- 12.5 inch (32cm) Blue Carbon Steel Pan (recommended) or pizza pan without holes or even a baking sheet.
How To Make - Step By Step
This is a detailed step by step guide with pictures on how to make Focaccia Barese. For printable version that also includes all ingredient quantities scroll down below.
Prepare the starter
- Mix all flours together. From the total amount take ⅓ cup (50 grams).
- Add about ¼ cup taken from the total amount of water.
- Add yeast. Mix until there’s no dry flour left.
- Let sit for 1 hour. As a result the starter will become bubbly and will double in size (see photo).
NOTE: If this didn’t happen means the yeast went bad and cannot be used.
Prepare the dough
- In a large bowl add remaining flour, remaining water, starter, peeled potato passed through potato ricer or grated, extra virgin olive oil and salt.
- Mix all the ingredients with a spatula then knead for 5-6 minutes using your hands. Add a little bit more flour if the dough is too sticky (this depends on the potatoes and particular type of flour you used).
- This step can be done using your stand mixer where you should knead the dough for no more than 4 minutes on low speed switching it to medium a few times.
- As a result you should get very soft dough that with an extra dust of flour comes together in a soft ball.
- Place the dough in a bowl, make a cross cut with a knife and let rise in warm place (like turned off oven) for 1 hour to 90 minutes or until double in size.
Arrange Focaccia in a pan
- Generously oil focaccia pan using your hands. With still oily hands take the dough out of the bowl and place it in focaccia pan. Using your well-oiled fingertips spread the dough in even layer all over the pan.
- Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rest for 10-30 minutes.
The result: the dough should rise but just a little bit to deep the condiment in.
Time greatly depends on the temperature. It’ll take just 10-15 minutes in the summer and might take up to 30 minutes in the cold season when room temperature generally tends to be lower.
Season and Bake
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
- Using your hands squeeze each cherry tomato half over focaccia letting all the juice flow on the dough. Deep cherry tomato half in the dough.
- In the remaining “blank” spot insert black olives.
- Generously sprinkle with dry oregano and give a few rounds of extra virgin olive oil.
- Cover again and let rise for the last time. Depending on the ambient temperature it’ll take 15-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 465F (240C).
- Top focaccia with a few pinches of sea salt flakes just before putting it in the oven. NOTE: If you do it earlier salt will simply melt in the dough.
- Bake focaccia on convection/fan setting of the oven for 15–20 minutes until golden crust forms and tomatoes are beautifully charred.
NOTE: If you don't have convection/fan setting bake focaccia at 482F (250C) for 20-25 minutes.
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Full Recipe
Focaccia Barese with Cherry Tomatoes and Olives
Try this Focaccia Barese - an unforgettable focaccia bread from Apuglia made with semolina flour, potatoes in the dough and topped with delicious cherry tomatoes and black olives.
SERVINGS: 6
Ingredients
Makes: 12.5inch round
For the dough
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour 100 grams
- ⅔ cup semolina flour (remilled semolina) 100 grams
- ⅓ cup bread flour 50 grams
- ¾ teaspoon instant dry yeast 2 grams
- ⅔ cup water 150 grams
- 1 small boiled potato 75-100 grams
- 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt 5 grams
For Seasoning
- 2 pinches salt flakes
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 10-12 cherry tomatoes 200 grams
- 10-12 black olives (used with pit if possible)
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Prepare the starter.
- Mix all flours together. From the total amount take ⅓ cup (50 grams).Add ¼ cup - 1 tablespoon of water (50 grams) taken from the total amount of water. Add yeast. Mix until there’s no dry flour left.Let sit for 1 hour. As a result the starter will become bubbly and will double in size.
Prepare the dough.
- In a large bowl add remaining flour, remaining water, starter, peeled potato passed through potato ricer or grated, extra virgin olive oil and salt.
- Mix all the ingredients with a spatula then knead for 5-6 minutes using your hands. Add a little bit more flour if the dough is too sticky (this depends on the potatoes and particular type of flour you used).
- This step can be done using your stand mixer where you should knead the dough for no more than 4 minutes on low speed switching it to medium a few times.
- As a result you should get very soft dough that with an extra dust of flour comes together in a soft ball.
- Place the dough in a bowl, make a cross cut with a knife and let rise in warm place (like turned off oven) for 1 hour to 90 minutes or until double in size.
Arrange Focaccia in a pan
- Generously oil focaccia pan using your hands. With still oily hands take the dough out of the bowl and place it in focaccia pan. Using your well-oiled fingertips spread the dough in even layer all over focaccia pan.
- Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rest for 10-30 minutes.As a result, the dough should rise but just a little bit to deep the condiment in. Time greatly depends on the temperature. It’ll take just 10 minutes in the summer and might take up to 30 minutes in the cold season.
Season & Bake
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Using your hands squeeze each cherry tomato half over focaccia letting all the juice flow on the dough. Deep cherry tomato halves in the dough. In the remaining “blank” spot insert black olives. Generously sprinkle with dried oregano and give a few rounds of extra virgin olive oil.
- Cover again and let rise for the last time. Depending on the ambient temperature it’ll take 15-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 465F (240C).Top focaccia with a few pinches of sea salt flakes just before putting it in the oven. Bake focaccia with convection/fan setting for 15–20 minutes until golden crust forms and tomatoes are beautifully charred.If you don't have convection/fan setting bake focaccia at 482F (250C) for 20-25 minutes.
Notes
If you use black olives with pit as recommended in this recipe, keep this in mind when eating focaccia and don't forget to advise everyone who you'll serve it to.
Nutrition
Calories: 250kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 6gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 499mgPotassium: 277mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 168IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have a question or want to let me know you loved the recipe?Leave a comment below! I love hearing from you!
Darren says
This recipe is excellent, though it would be helpful to now how much EVOO to include in the dough since no quantities were given. Nevertheless, it is almost impossible to find whole black olives so I used a few canned/pitted, and then pitted some Cerignolas. As I mentioned in a reply, it is dangerous to use whole olives without pitting them first.
Alice says
Plan to make the focaccia this week.
Anonymous says
should I pit the black olives before placing on Foccasia?
Anonymous says
I will make the focaccia as soon as I can . Thanks
Anonymous says
No. Don’t pit the olives according to the recipe.
Mike says
If you value your teeth remove pits!!
Darren says
The notes refer to pitted olives absorbing too much of the brine, and becoming flavorless once cooked. However, allowing ANYone to bite into a piece of focaccia--even yourself--might cause a dental problem. Why risk it. Been there done that. Pit them yourself by either using an olive/cherry pitter gizmo or smash them with the blade of a large knife and remove the pit that way.