Here’s a recipe for a focaccia dough with spelt. I’ve used red onion and garlic as a topping but any other options should do as well, such as tomato or simply rosemary.
The ingredients
- 5 dl coarse spelt flour
- 5 dl fine spelt four
- ~ 1,5 dl olive oil (0,5 dl to the dough and 1 dl on the top)
- ~ 25 g yeast
- 4 dl water
- rosemary (optional)
The process
Warm up the water to around 40°C and mix the yeast into it, a whisk is practical for this. Use a whisk to mix the coarse spelt flour with the water and yeast, put the whisk away and then add the fine spelt flour and knead the dough until it’s smooth. Avoid adding more flour even if the dough sticks to hands a little. Then add oil and knead the dough until the oil has been almost entirely absorbed by the dough.
Let the dough rise in a large bowl until the cross isn’t visible anymore. Putting the bowl into the oven warmed to around 40°C can be used to hasten the dough’s rise. Spread the dough carefully on an oven tray; even spread isn’t crucial, it’s more important the dough doesn’t lose its fluffiness at this point.
Puncture the dough with your fingers (typically index finger). Slice the red onion into thin slices and spread the slices evenly on the dough. Pour the remaining olive oil on the flat dough, place the onion slices on top and spread the oil with a bun brush on the onion slices and the dough. Sprinkling some rosemary on the top at this point is optional.
Instead of red onion or other conventional toppings, mashed garlic may be used. In that case, mix the mashed garlic in olive oil for some time before applying it on the dough. Just in case you happen to be reading this in Italy, do keep in mind that putting garlic on focaccia may well be illegal so you’d be doing this at your own risk!
Put the tray into the oven (still at 40°C) and let the dough still rise a little, say 15 minutes, then take it out and set the oven temperature to 200°C. Sprinkle some sea salt on top and bake for about 20 minutes.