Recipe?....... mashed potatoes in focaccia.. Pugliese style.
I use my really old focaccia pans for this recipe. The dough will make about three large ones.
It’s in my head, so roughly here it is:
3 cups of warm water
about 1/2 tablespoon of dry yeast
about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
about 3/4 tablespoon of olive oil
8 - 8 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
3/4 of leftover mashed potatoes, warmed (or boil 1 medium potato and mash)
Several canned, peeled tomatoes broken up
Olive oil for pans and top of focaccia
salt
oregano
black olives to taste
In kitchenaid bowl add warm water, yeast and sugar. In warm area, cover to proof the yeast. Add olive oil, mashed potatoes, flour and salt. Use kneading hook until everything is combined. This dough is a wet dough, So I let it knead for a few minutes in the mixer.
Cover and let dough rise until double, about a half an hour.
Coat inside of focaccia pans with olive oil and divide the dough for the pans. Press dough into each pan and drizzle with olive oil. Use hands to spread olive oil over the dough. Break apart the tomatoes and press into dough evenly. Sprinkle with salt and oregano to taste.
Heat oven to 350F.
Cover and let rise for 15-20 minutes.
Bake for 30 minutes. Dough will look golden and be crispy on the outside.
There is nothing like fresh focaccia bread dipped in tomato sauce that has been simmered for hours. I used to boil and mash a potato for it like how my parents taught me. Over the years I found that leftover mashed potatoes make an easier substitute for that. They have the added butter and milk, which makes the dough softer after it’s baked. Plus that bonus of garlic boiled with the potato for extra flavor. I’ll post a pic of my old pans here in a minute because I can’t find any online. They are from Italy.