A traditional brioche from Italy, this guide to “focaccia veneziana” can be found in the transportive book Venice Cult Recipes. We think you should do as the locals do and enjoy it any time of day.
Focaccia is a Venetian yeast cake traditionally eaten at Easter and now found all year round in Venice. It can be eaten for breakfast dipped in caffellatte (milk coffee), or for afternoon tea, plain or spread with jam for a home-made focaccia, allow a few hours for the dough to rise, or in Venice, buy it from a good pasticceria!
Makes 1 focaccia, 20cm (8 inches diameter)
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Cooking time: 40 to 50 minutes
- Combine the fresh yeast with 80ml (one-third cup) of the milk, warmed, in a large mixing bowl, add 150g (1 cup) of the flour and knead briefly. Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Add the egg yolks, butter, sugar, the remaining flour and milk, the rum, lemon zest and salt to this mixture.
- Knead well with your hands (or use an electric mixer with the dough hook).
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Work the dough again by hand or in the electric mixer for one minute.
- Place the dough in a greased and floured spring-form cake tin, 20cm across. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise again for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Score a cross on top of the dough and brush it with the egg yolk beaten with the milk.
- Sprinkle with almonds and bake for 40-50 minutes: the focaccia is cooked when a skewer (or knife blade) inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Note: Traditional focaccia recipes involve slower rising times, in three phases (2 hours + 2 hours + 5 hours).
Venice Cult Recipes (mini) by Laura Zavan, $33, published by Murdoch Books.
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