Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the focaccia dough

• 100 g / 3 1/2 oz. Ultra-Grain all-purpose flour (see Note below)
• 85 g / 3 oz. King Arthur Flour Italian-style flour (see Note below)
• 15 g / 1/2 oz. stone-ground whole-wheat flour (I use locally grown and milled Hollis wheat)
• 160 ml water at 85 F / 30 C
• 0.8 g / 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon / 4 g fine sea salt
• EV olive oil in a mister (to oil the bowl and the dough)

For the topping

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary needles
• 2 pears, possibly organic

Instructions

Note: Ultra-Grain all-purpose flour is a blend that includes whole-grain flour. I am listing the brands of the flours I use not as a form of advertisement, but because I have made focaccia with other flours and these give me the best result. I have no business relationship with either company.

Prepare the dough

Start early in the morning if you want to bake focaccia for lunch, or in the afternoon if you want to bake it for dinner.

In a small bowl, measure the three flours. In a larger bowl, measure the water. Add the flours to the water and stir with a wooden spoon or a dough whisk until a shaggy dough forms (I purchased the smaller version of this tool and love it: it works nicely and is easy to clean).

Sprinkle yeast on the dough, but do not fold it in. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime, oil well the bowl in which the dough will rise. A wide glass bowl makes it easy to manipulate the dough.

Wet the spoon (if using it) and stir dough to fold in the yeast. Add the salt and stir some more until it is well incorporated. Transfer the dough to the prepared oiled bowl. This is a fairly sticky dough, hence I recommend you wet your hands before handling it. With wet hands, letter-fold the dough and then flip it to oil the surface. This is your time 0. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 45 minutes.

This very nice video on The SF Baking Institute website describes and shows stretching and folding: as Mac says in the video, the stretching part is of fundamental importance in gluten development. The video is not long, but if you don’t have time to watch it in its entirety, you can start at 4′:30″ and watch Mac show how to stretch and fold.

A) Stretch and fold the focaccia dough in the bowl along both sides (length and width).

B) Cover and let rest for 1 hour.

Repeat A and B two more times, at which point you will be at time 3 hours and 45 minutes and your dough should show bubbles on the surface.

Bake the pears

Some time while the dough is rising, preheat oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper. Wash, quarter and core the pears. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Take the pears out of the oven and let cool. Set aside until ready to use.

Shape the focaccia

Lightly oil a silicone baking mat or piece of parchment paper resting on a baking sheet. Flip the bowl onto the mat and let the dough drop. Cover it with another baking sheet or oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Push the dough out gently with your fingertips to spread it into a roughly square shape, about 9 inches / 23 cm wide. Cover it as before and let it rest for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, chop the rosemary and cut the pear quarters into 1/4 inch / 6 mm thick slices. You will not need both pears: you can add leftovers to a salad, a frittata or stuffing for an acorn squash (just to mention a few options).

Dimple the dough gently with your fingertips to spread it a little bit more, then mist the surface with olive oil. Sprinkle the rosemary evenly on the dough, then distribute the pear slices so they dot the focaccia, but don’t blanket it.

Cover as before and let rise for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the oven.

Prepare the oven

Place a baking stone or tile in the cold oven and preheat the oven to 475 F / 245 C.

Bake the focaccia

Mist the dough with olive oil one last time. Transfer the baking mat or parchment paper with the dough onto the hot stone or tile.

Bake for 15 minutes then check. The focaccia is ready when golden on the bottom and surface. Bake a few minutes longer, as needed.

Carefully slide the baking mat or parchment paper with the focaccia onto a baking sheet and then transfer the focaccia to a wire rack to cool slightly. Transfer to a wooden cutting board, slice and enjoy.

---

Go to the full post on focaccia alle pere e rosmarino / pear and rosemary focaccia