Sweet ’n’ fluffy
Focaccia | Recipe

With chocolate, thyme & caramelized pears

Text:
Katharina Kuhlmann

Photography:
© Roberta Dall'Alba

13 October 2020

Focaccia is a typical Italian flat bread made of yeast dough and comes from the Liguria region. Usually the bread is topped with olives, tomatoes, etc. Our today's version becomes a real sweet seduction with chocolate and caramelized pears ....

Ingredients

For 1 big focaccia

For the focaccia:

7 g

dry active yeast

150 ml

lukewarm water

150 ml

lukewarm milk

30 g

raw brown sugar

500 g

spelt flour

8 g

salt

10 g

butter (softened)

For the pears:

pear

some

butter (enough to cover the bottom of the pan)

1 tbsp

brown sugar

0.5 - 1 tbsp

balsamic vinegar

Furthermore:

80 - 90 g

VIVANI Superior Dark Chocolate 70 % Cocoa

a bit

cinnamon

a bit

thyme

making

baking time
10 minutes

waiting / cooling time
100 - 120 minutes

level of difficulty
medium

N°

In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour water and milk, dry yeast and sugar and combine using the flat hook.

Change to kneading hook, gradually add spelt flour and let combine at medium speed.

When fully absorbed, add salt then softened butter. When absorbed, let knead for about 10 – 15 minutes at medium high speed.

Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it double in volume in a warm place for approximately 1.5 hours (depending on the temperature).

In the meantime, prepare the pears: let butter melt in a pan at medium heat, add pears’ slices and let caramelize on the bottom. Flip them and let caramelize the other side.

Add sugar and balsamic vinegar to balance flavors. Afterwards set aside.

When your dough has doubled, roll it out with your hands on a well-greased baking tray (alternatively, grease a sheet of parchment paper and roll your dough onto it).

Garnish with caramelized pears and chocolate chunks, gently press them into the fluffy dough, and let rise again for about 15 – 30 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat the convection oven at 225 °C.

Bake the focaccia for about 10 minutes or until golden brown (if using a conventional oven, it would take a few more minutes).

Garnish with thyme and cinnamon.

Thanks for this extraordinary Focaccia to Roberta Dall Alba from the Italian food-blog Healthy Little Cravings. We also love her fantastic cinemagraphs – real eye candy!

healthylittlecravings.com