Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [292]
5. For the topping: Put the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and all the sliced onion in a saute pan, turn the heat on to medium high, and cook the onion, stirring it frequently, until it is tender, but not too soft. It should still be slightly crunchy.
6. When the indicated rising time has elapsed, stretch out the dough in the baking pan, spreading it toward the edges so that it covers the entire pan to a depth of about ¼ inch. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise for 45 minutes.
7. At least 30 minutes before you are ready to bake, put the baking stone in the oven and preheat oven to 450°.
8. When the second rising time for the dough has elapsed, keeping the fingers of your hand stiff, poke the dough all over, making many little hollows with your fingertips. Beat the mixture of oil, water, and salt with a small whisk or a fork for a few minutes until you have obtained a fairly homogeneous emulsion, then pour it slowly over the dough, using a brush to spread it all the way out to the edges of the pan. You will find that the liquid will pool in the hollows made by your fingertips. Spread the cooked onion over the dough, and place the pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Check the focaccia after 15 minutes. If you find it is cooking faster on one side than another, turn the pan accordingly. Bake for another 7 to 8 minutes. Lift the focaccia out of the pan with spatulas, and transfer it to a cooling rack.
Serve focaccia warm or at room temperature that same day. It is preferable not to keep it longer, but if you must, it is better to freeze than to refrigerate. Reheat in a very hot oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Food processor note The preceding 2 steps may be carried out in the food processor, but the hand method, aside from the physical satisfactions it provides, produces a focaccia with better texture.
Variation, Focaccia with Salt
From the ingredients for the preceding recipe for Focaccia with Onions, omit the onions and their cooking oil, and omit the salt in the mixture of oil and water. Follow all the other steps of the recipe. After brushing the dough with oil and water, sprinkle over it 1½ teaspoons coarse sea salt. Bake as directed in the basic recipe.
Variation, Focaccia with Fresh Rosemary
From the ingredients for the recipe for Focaccia with Onions, omit the onions and their cooking oil, and add several short sprigs of rosemary. Make the focaccia as directed in the basic recipe. When you check its progress in the oven after 15 minutes, spread over it the small sprigs of rosemary, and finish baking.
Variation, Focaccia with Fresh Sage
From the ingredients for the recipe for Focaccia with Onions, omit the onions and their cooking oil, and add 20 fresh sage leaves, chopped rather fine, and several whole leaves. When stretching out the dough in the pan prior to its second rising, as directed in the basic recipe, work the chopped sage into the dough, distributing it as uniformly as possible. Bake the focaccia as directed in the basic recipe. When you check its progress after 15 minutes, spread over it a thin scattering of fresh whole sage leaves, and finish the baking.
Variation, Focaccia with Black Greek Olives
From the ingredients for the recipe for Focaccia with Onions, omit the onions and their cooking oil, reduce the salt in the oil and water mixture to ½ teaspoon, and add 6 ounces black Greek olives. They should be the thin-skinned round ones that vary in color from dark brown to black. Do not use the purple, tapered Kalamata variety. Cut the olives all the way around their middle and loosen them from the pit, producing 2 detached halves from each olive. After you have poked hollows into the dough in the pan, as directed in the basic recipe, push the olives, cut side facing down, into the hollows, embedding them deeply into the dough, then brush the dough with the oil, water, and salt mixture. Bake the focaccia as directed in the basic recipe.
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