Easy Focaccia Muffins (2024)

FAQs

Which flour is best for focaccia? ›

A high-hydration dough made with bread flour creates focaccia with an extra-crisp crust that's still both tender and chewy. Cold-fermenting the dough overnight produces complex flavor and an even rise.

Not allowing the focaccia to proof long enough in the fridge will prevent enough gluten from being formed. This causes flat and dense focaccia once baked.

Because it creates the kind of focaccia that I like, light and fluffy instead of fine crumbed and cakey. Focaccia is all about olive oil, on the dough, in the dough, in the topping, and finally a little drizzle when it comes out off the oven nice and hot. It may SEEM like a lot but it's a big bread we're making here!

Benefits for your figure and your health

Rather, focaccia provides complex carbohydrates that slowly give the body energy and help better regulate blood sugar levels,” Schirò explains. If it's made with whole wheat flour then it's got an extra edge. “It provides a greater amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

If you are using active-dry yeast, simply sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water and let it stand for 15 minutes or until it gets foamy; then proceed with the recipe. Flour: You can use all-purpose or bread flour here with great results. If you live in a humid environment, I would suggest using bread flour.

Traditionally Tuscan focaccia is medium thick and medium soft but crispy on the outside. Salt and rosemary are its usual companions. However, throughout Tuscany you can also find a thin and crispy version as well thick and very soft. Tuscan panini with cheese and cold cuts often use focaccia for a base.

Transfer to the pan - The dough is transferred to an oiled pan and spread out slightly, and placed in a warm place. Rise focaccia in the pan - The dough rises a second time, uncovered, until doubled in size, puffy, and jiggly. This rising time depends on whether you started with room temperature or cold dough.

Focaccia should have a certain softness to it, but the thing I encounter most that ruins it is too much oil in the pan combined with wet ingredients, high hydrated doughs and too fast of a cook. It's just too much moisture compounding with too fast of a bake.

This dough will be very, very wet – almost like cake mix. If you can, wet your hands (to stop them sticking) and fold the dough over a little, just to see what a dough of this wetness (or 'hydration') feels like.

KEEP THE DOUGH HYDRATED:

Focaccia requires a very hydrated dough, which is what gives it a soft texture. So, it's all the more important to ensure that it does not dry out. That's why it's kept in the refrigerator covered with a few drops of oil and rises at room temperature under another veil of oil.

How to tell if focaccia is done? ›

Put the pan in the oven and bake for 20–30 minutes, until the top is a lovely golden and the internal temperature is 190-210°F (88–99°C). When your timer sounds, verify the internal temperature with your Thermapen ONE. Continue to cook if the temp is not high enough.

Dimpling (aka poking holes) in focaccia helps to release gas and air, which helps your focaccia to maintain its signature flat look. At the same time, olive oil that's drizzled onto the foccacia is able to infuse into the dough for a truly wonderful flavour!

Serving: Focaccia is incredibly versatile and can be served as an antipasto, appetizer, table bread or snack. In contrast, ciabatta serves as a delicious sandwich bread.

Focaccia bread contains 20.4 grams of carbohydrates per slice, 1 gram of fiber, and 1 gram of sugar and is considered a refined carbohydrate. It is not high in sugar (only 1 gram per slice), but may raise blood sugars more rapidly due to lack of fiber.

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

Grano duro is slightly yellow, more granular, and more commonly used for pasta and some breads in the south of Italy. It's also knows as durum wheat flour. Grano tenero is generally what we think of as white flour, and is more broadly used in bread, pizza, and pastry, and northern pasta doughs.

Strong Bread Flour is Higher in Protein

Strong bread flour is made from “hard” wheat varieties and has more protein, from 12 to 14 percent. This creates more rise and structural support in the dough, allowing the final product to lift and hold shape. It also creates a chewier texture and more browning in the crust.