Bread, obviously, is an essential food product. But sometimes its flavor might seem very simple… Even too simple. But, if there’s a country where bread is not something that you can define as basic, then that’s Italy! In Italy bread comes in all shapes and flavors. It can be flat and crispy or thick and fluffy. It can be topped with different kind of ingredients or served simply with salt and olive oil. No matter how and with what the bread is made, it is tasty! Also my Italian Focaccia with potatoes and rosemary is very delicious, so let’s learn how to make it!
The Italian Focaccia with potatoes and rosemary is, as you already understood, topped with potatoes and rosemary. In addition, the topping contains also salt and olive oil to make the potato layer even more flavorful. But the topping is not the only place where the potatoes exist! They are hidden also in the dough of the bread. When it comes about Italian Focaccia with potatoes and rosemary, I always prefer to make it thick, because I really love how soft it is. Literally, like a cloud! But if you prefer thinner focaccia, you can simply choose a bigger baking tray for it, without increasing the amount of ingredients.
How to make Italian Focaccia with potatoes and rosemary
The preparation process altogether is quite long, because you need to let the dough rise two times. But the time that you will need to directly work with the ingredients is quite small. So, basically this Italian Focaccia with potatoes and rosemary is a dish that will test your patience, but won’t exhaust you. And, of course, once it’s ready, already the first bite will make you forget all the time spent on waiting. So, let’s get to the point! You need to start by making the dough. That means mixing together all the ingredients except raw potatoes, rosemary and half of the amount of oil and salt. Why? – Because these four ingredients will serve as topping of your focaccia. When mixing starts to be difficult, knead the dough until it’s homogenous. Then let it rise in a warm place for two hours.
Two hours later the dough should be at least doubled in size. Then it’s time to transfer it to your chosen baking tray, even it out and let it rise again for 40 minutes. After that you must poke the surface of the dough with your fingers in such a way creating small dimples. Then, thinly slice the potatoes, place them over the dough, sprinkle over some fresh rosemary and pour over everything the mixture of oil and salt. After that, the only thing that is missing is the baking itself. Bake the Italian Focaccia with potatoes and rosemary for about 40 minutes. Once it’s ready, you’ll see that the borders of the potato slices have become golden brown. You can serve your focaccia both warm and cold. It tastes great in both versions.
Vegan dishes from Italian traditional cuisine
In general, the Italian focaccia usually is vegan. In some places people add lard to it. Then it’s obviously not vegan anymore. But even if you need to veganize some dishes from the Italian traditional cuisine, in most cases it’s quite easy. For example, I’ve made vegan version of pesto. And stuffed Italian pasta known as cannelloni. But some traditional Italian dishes are vegan already from the get-go. For example, Cecina or traditional Italian chickpea flour flatbread. There are so many ways how to adapt dishes to your own liking. The only thing that is necessary, is the willpower to experiment. It’s obvious that my bunny boy Specky cannot cook. But sometimes he’s even too lazy to do things that he’s able to do. Like, being the bunny-model. That’s why this time I needed to ask for Specky’s girlfriend’s help to be my model. And I think she did wonderful!
In my opinion this recipe is perfect for rainy days when you are forced to stay at home. And with this recipe you can also discover a new way how to use such and ordinary food product as potato! So, fill your home with a delicious home-made bread aroma from this Italian focaccia with potatoes and rosemary that is:
-
vegan
- soft
- fluffy
- easy to make
- flavorful
- filling
- with a thin crispy border
- and simply yummy!
Let me know, if you try this recipe! Leave a comment or even more – make Specky happy! Snap a picture of your masterpiece and post it on Instagram or Facebook by tagging @bunnymommycooks. And feel free to let your animal family members join in the picture!
| Prep Time | 20 min |
| Cook Time | 40 min |
| Passive Time | 2h40min |
| Servings |
big slices* (check notes)
|
- 500 g of flour
- 7 g of instant yeast (make sure that it doesn’t need to be dissolved in water first)
- 1 big boiled potato (~300 g – the indicated weight refers to an uncooked potato)
- 2 small raw potatoes (~125 g for each potato)
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil (+ extra oil for greasing the baking tray)
- 200 ml of warm water
- fresh rosemary (if necessary, can be substituted with dried rosemary)
Ingredients
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|
- in a big bowl mash the boiled potato by using a fork or potato masher;
- add sifted flour, instant yeast and sugar, mix everything together;
- in a glass mix together half of the indicated amount of oil with half of the indicated amount of salt;
- in the bowl add warm (not hot!) water and the prepared oil – salt mixture, mix everything together;
- once mixing is not possible anymore, start kneading the dough with your hands until it doesn’t stick anymore to your fingers (if necessary, gradually add a bit extra flour), then form the dough into a ball;
- leave the dough ball in the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap;
- let the dough rise for 2 hours in a warm place;
- once the dough has risen, grease abundantly (don’t be modest) your chosen baking tray;
- transfer the dough to the baking tray and spread it out with your hands, then let the dough rise once again for 40 minutes in a warm place;
- once the dough has risen for the second time, heat the oven to 190°C/375°F;
- thinly slice the raw potatoes and in a glass mix together the remaining half of oil with the remaining half of salt;
- poke the surface of the dough with your fingers (from time to time run your fingers under water to avoid that the dough sticks to them) by creating several small dimples;
- cover the surface of the dough with slices of potato, sprinkle over the rosemary and then pour over everything the oil – salt mixture;
- place the baking tray in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.
* dimensions of the baking tray used for 6 thick slices: diameter – 28 cm/11”; height – 5 cm/2”. It’s not obligatory to use round baking tray – also squared, rectangular or any other form works fine.
