Genoa-Style Focaccia

I’m deep in my focaccia journey right now, and Genoa-Style Focaccia is my newfound favorite. If you even glimpse at Italy, you can see how focaccia varies greatly from region to region. This thin, crisp-on-the-edges, fluffy-in-the-middle focaccia is touted as the original style of focaccia, and I give credit where credit is due.

This focaccia is thin enough for every meal, but fluffy enough to still feel light and satisfying, and crispy enough to keep you coming back for more. Because isn’t the best part of focaccia all that amazing olive oil that crisps it up?

The history of Genovese focaccia

You can tell from my other focaccia recipes that I am no stranger to the varieties of focaccia out there. This bread’s thickness, texture and toppings vary vastly from one Italian area to another. 

But Liguria is considered to be the home of traditional focaccia. Foccacia Genovese, the recipe I’m imitating today, is about 1″ thick and is very soft on the inside. The key component is that it is brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, so that the edges remain crispy and the top is golden brown.

There are other varieties of focaccia from Liguria, such as Recco focaccia, which has two layers and cheese inside. But even today, the thin, salty focaccia is considered the original.

How to eat Genoa-style focaccia

The beauty of focaccia is there are no stipulations on how, when, where or why to eat it. Which makes it my kind of bread. It’s an all-day bread.

In Genoa, some people have a slice with their cappuccino. Others use it as a street food to snack on as they walk. And then there are those who use the thin, crisp slices to their advantage and make beautiful sandwiches.

So all that to say, you can make, eat and use this focaccia however you want! It’s an all-day bread!

Ingredients to make this kind of focaccia

Genoa-style focaccia consists of the basics:

• 3.5 grams active dry yeast (a heaping 1 teaspoon)
• 60 mL water at 85°F-95°F (1/4 cup)
• 390 grams bread flour (3 cups)
• 300 mL water at 85°F-95°F (1 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 tablespoon Morton’s Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for drizzling

The mixing process

Here’s how to best mix the dough. You can do it by hand, but I highly recommend the strength of a stand mixer if you have one.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the active dry yeast and 1/4 cup of warm water. Let sit for 3-5 minutes or until it starts to bubble slightly.
• When the yeast is active, add in the bread flour, water and salt. Mix by hand until you have a shaggy dough. Then use the dough hook attachment to mix the dough on low for 2 minutes. It should look very wet, almost like batter.
• Cover the bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes. Then mix the dough on medium-high for 10 minutes. The dough is ready when you see it start to pull away from the edges of the bowl and cling to the dough hook.
• ***To do this without a stand mixer, knead by hand on an unfloured surface for 15 minutes. Get ready to do some WORK 😉

The proofing and shaping process

• While the dough is mixing, pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large bowl. Swirl the bowl around to coat the edges.
• Place the dough into the bowl and lift it slightly with your hands to make sure that it is surrounded by oil. This will prevent sticking.

• Cover with cling wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• When the dough has risen, gently use your hands to lift it up from the bowl and place it down again. This will deflate the dough. Do this a few more times until the dough has puffed down slightly.
• Generously oil your 13″x 9.5″ baking sheet. Plop the dough in the center and gently stretch it towards the edges. It won’t reach all the way (yet) but do your best.
• Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes to let the gluten relax, then stretch it all the way towards the edges of the pan.
• Cover and put the dough in a warm place for the second proof. You can also proof it in your fridge for 12 hours if you want to bake the next day. If baking on the same day, let it proof for 1 hour or until it has bubbled up to the top of the sheet pan.

• Preheat the oven to 425°F and set a rack in the center of the oven.
• When the dough has risen, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the top. Using your fingers, gently dimple the dough. You can indent your fingers all the way to the sheet pan and watch the dough bounce back. It’s fun!
• Bake at 425°F for 25-30 minutes or until it is golden and crisp 🙂

Topping ideas for this

Now traditional Genoa-style focaccia just uses flakey salt, but the world really is your oyster with these. You can top it with a few of my favorite ideas:

• Pesto
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Sliced garlic
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Black pepper
• Adjika seasoning
• Dukkah
• Fresh tomatoes
• Pearl onions or shallots

The list could go on! Feel free to make it your own!

Looking for other bread recipes?

Here are my favorite yeast-based recipes from the blog!

Why is everything in grams for this Genovese focaccia?

Baking, and bread especially, is a very finicky and exact science. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, and not volume. As much as I wish I could give you multiple ways to measure ingredients, in this recipe measuring by cups might cause some volatility and miss-matched results. I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe fool-proof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this bread recipe!

And that’s everything for this Genoa-Style Focaccia!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3