The focaccia with zucchini and parmesan is an easy-to-make leavened bread, perfect as a snack, at a buffet, or during leisure time. Its dough is super soft and flavorful, just like the focaccia you buy at the bakery, only now we can conveniently and easily make it at home. No mixer is needed; the dough is so soft that you can work it simply with your hands. It can be a tasty and flavorful substitute for bread during a dinner with friends. Thanks to the double rising and high hydration, this focaccia will remain soft and flavorful even the next day. With this type of dough and our imagination, we can create countless variations and appetizing appetizers.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Low cost
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp fresh yeast
- 1/2 cup room temperature water
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 7 oz zucchini
- 3 tbsps grated parmesan cheese
Tools
- 1 Baking Pan
Steps
The baking pan I used for this focaccia is round, shallow, and has a diameter of 12 inches.
This is a direct dough, which means it involves a single processing without a starter or pre-ferment. The focaccia has two rising phases (which can be done in one day), giving it a long-lasting aroma and softness.
Preparation of focaccia with zucchini and parmesan.
Wash the zucchini, remove the ends, and grate it into large flakes using the largest holes of a grater.
Finely grate the cheese.
Dissolve the fine salt in 1 tbsp of water (taken from the 1/2 cup in the recipe) and set aside for now.
In a large, shallow bowl, dissolve the yeast with a tablespoon of water taken from the total amount provided in the recipe.
Add half of the flour (already sifted) and half of the water. Coarsely mix the ingredients; you will get a mushy, almost creamy mixture.
At this point, add the rest of the flour, zucchini, cheese, extra virgin olive oil (a heaping tablespoon), and finally both the remaining water and the tablespoon in which the salt was dissolved.
Knead until the ingredients are perfectly combined. The obtained dough will be soft. Cover it well, sealing the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rise until it doubles. Rising times will depend on room temperature; in my case, the dough took almost 4 hours to double in volume.
Once the time has passed, oil the pizza pan well, gently turn the dough into it, and spread it carefully with your oiled hands until it covers the entire surface.
Let the focaccia rise for a second time in the turned-off oven, and when it’s ready (about an hour and a half to two hours), take it out, turn on the oven, setting it to the highest temperature.
Bake the focaccia on the lowest rack in the already hot oven for 10-12 minutes at most. You can gently brush the surface of the focaccia with a little extra virgin olive oil using your hands or a kitchen brush.
Take it out of the oven and enjoy it alone or to accompany cold cuts and other vegetables.
Extra idea. We can use a mix of parmesan and pecorino to give a more intense flavor to our already delicious focaccia.
Bon appetit
