Just outside Pontremoli there’s a bakery that makes a delicious focaccia al mais (cornmeal focaccia). As much as I’d like to buy it fresh every day, it’s not practical for me and Geoff, because we live in a tiny little village 10 km north of Pontremoli, in the opposite direction from the bakery. So, as I’m already used to making my own bread at least once a week, I decided to try and make my own focaccia al mais. After a few experiments I came up with quite a satisfactory version, which Geoff likes a lot, and I’m going to share this recipe with you:

Preparation:

In a big mixing bowl I mix the two flours together with salt and sugar, and make a well in the centre. Then I mix two third cold water with one third boiling water to get the right lukewarm temperature. I pour the water in the well that I made in the flour, add the olive oil, and then crumble the yeast into it. I first work the ingredients with a wooden spoon, and then with my hands, kneading the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. It takes about ten minutes.

I dust the mixing bowl with a bit of flour, put the dough in it, and cover it with a tea towel, then wrap everything up in a small blanket or a bath towel to rest for about an hour to rise. Oh yes, I must remember to put a baking tray or the bread board on top of the mixing bowl otherwise one of our six cats, usually Smokie, thinks that I’ve made a nice snuggly bed for him to rest on!

After about an hour I warm up a baking tray (I use a rectangular tray), and dust it with a sprinkle of flour or cornmeal. I knead the dough for another couple of minutes, then roll it out quite thinly, about one cm thick, and lay it in the baking tray. I cover the tray with the mixing bowl turned upside-down in order to stop the cats from laying on it, and wrap it up in the blanket once more for another forty minutes.

Fifteen minutes before baking the focaccia, I light the oven to 240°C (450°F). When it’s time to bake the focaccia, I use my fingertips to make indentations on its surface. In a small cup I mix a little water with a little olive oil and then brush this generously over the focaccia (this is a trick that my friend Annalisa taught me). Finally I sprinkle some coarse sea salt over it. I put the baking tray in the oven on the bottom rack and lower the temperature to 220°C (425°F), leaving it to cook for 25 to 30 minutes. I transfer the nice golden focaccia onto a wire rack to cool down before enjoying it with some nice ricotta or pecorino cheese.