Italian Anchovy Focaccia Bread Recipes

ITALIAN ANCHOVY FOCACCIA BREAD

Steps:

• First gently mix the Anna Tipo "00" Flour with the semolina in a bowl. Dissolve the yeast in a 3/4 cup of lukewarm water and set aside. Combine the flour with 2 tsp of sugar (which will help dough rise), then begin kneading the mixture on a wooden board, gradually adding the yeast and water mixture a little at a time; next, add 6 oz. milk, 1/4 cup oil, and finally 2 tsp fine salt. Shape the dough into a ball, then transfer to a bowl and cover with a moist towel. Set it aside in a warm location and let it rise for at least 1 hour. Coat a rectangular baking tray with a mixture of Rouses Organic Sicilian Olive Oil and water. Stretch the dough over the baking tray, press fingertips to poke deep dents all over the surface of the dough, then drizzle the surface with more of the Rouses Organic Sicilian Olive Oil and water emulsion. Cover with a towel and set aside for at least 30 minutes to rise. Press Rouses Sicilian Pitted Olives and grape tomatoes into the dough. Sprinkle with Scalia Sicilian Anchovy fillets, oregano, coarse salt. Brush with more emulsion of Rouses Organic Sicilian Olive Oil and water if surface looks too dry, then bake for 20-25 minutes at 320°F. Remove from the oven and from the baking tray, then cut into slices before serving.

MULTILAYERED ANCHOVY BREAD

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Stir together water and yeast in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) Stir oil into yeast mixture. Pulse together "00" flour, semolina, and salt in a food processor until combined. With motor running, pour in yeast mixture and process until a wet dough forms. Transfer dough from bowl to a lightly floured surface and knead gently a few times until smooth. Form dough into a ball and transfer to an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Make seasoned oil:
• Whisk together all oil ingredients in a small bowl until combined well.
• Form and bake sfogliata:
• Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to remove air. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface into a roughly 18-inch round (1/8-inch thick).
• Reserve 1 tablespoon seasoned oil and brush remaining oil over dough round, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge. Tightly roll up dough jelly-roll style and pinch seam to seal (some filling will seep out as you roll). Arrange roll seam side down and form into a coil, then transfer to oiled pan. Gently press on coil to flatten slightly, then cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Brush top of dough with reserved oil and bake until pale golden and top and underside are crusty, 35 to 40 minutes. Lift bread from pan with a metal spatula and transfer, right side up, to cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour. Serve bread thinly sliced.
• *Available at fornobravo.com.
• **Available at D. Coluccio & Sons (718-436-6700).

POTATO, PARMESAN, AND ANCHOVY FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment proof the yeast with the sugar in the water for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. In a large bowl combine 4 cups of the flour, the mashed potatoes, and the table salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal, add it with 2 tablespoons of the oil to the yeast mixture, and combine the dough well. With the dough hook knead the dough, scraping down the dough hook occasionally and incorporating as much of the remaining 1/2 cup flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking, for 2 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball, transfer it to an oiled bowl, and turn it to coat it with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is double in bulk. The dough may be made up to this point, punched down, and kept, covered and chilled, overnight. Let the dough return to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
• In a small bowl stir together the garlic, the rosemary, the anchovy paste, and the remaining 4 tablespoons oil and let the mixture stand, covered. Press the dough evenly into an oiled jelly-roll pan, 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1 inches, and let it rise, covered loosely, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is almost double in bulk. Cut the red potatoes into paper-thin slices with a mandoline or handheld slicer, arrange the slices on the dough, overlapping them, and brush them with the oil mixture, discarding the garlic. Sprinkle the focaccia with the Parmesan, the coarse salt, and pepper to taste. Bake the focaccia in the bottom third of a preheated 400°F. oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it is golden brown, let it cool in the pan on a rack, and serve it warm or at room temperature.