Zuni Café’s Focaccia

By David Tanis

Zuni Café’s Focaccia
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
2½ hours
Rating
4(337)
Comments
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The excellent hamburger at Zuni Café in San Francisco has always been served on a square of toasted rosemary focaccia. The pastry chef Annie Callan offers this house recipe: Scaled to a reasonable size, it is easy to put together and fun to make. Bake it in a 9-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet for a nice, thick focaccia that can be cut into six 4-inch squares (the trimmings are a delicious snack), and split horizontally into a hamburger bun. The baked focaccia can be kept for several days in an airtight container and needs only a brief toasting to bring it back to life. But you can also roll the dough thinner and bake a more pizzalike flatbread, perhaps topped with stewed onions or peppers.

Featured in: Zuni Café at 40: Still a Home for the Eclectic

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Ingredients

Yield:6 squares
  • 1¼cups/300 milliliters warm water
  • 1½teaspoons dry active yeast
  • 3tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing pan
  • 2teaspoons minced rosemary
  • 1⅔cups/215 grams bread flour
  • 1⅔cups/215 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1½teaspoons kosher salt
  • Fine cornmeal or semolina, for dusting bottom of pan
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine water and yeast, stirring to dissolve. Add 3 tablespoons oil and rosemary. Add bread flour and mix, using dough hook, to make a stiff batter. Let sit at room temperature until bubbly and doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add all-purpose flour and salt. Mix at low speed until dough comes together. Continue mixing for 10 minutes, until smooth.

  3. Step 3

    Remove dough hook and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Punch down dough, remove from bowl and knead briefly on work surface. Dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Dust with about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, if necessary, for easier handling.

  4. Step 4

    Using a rolling pin, stretch the dough into a rectangle about 10 by 14 inches. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let relax for 10 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Grease a 9-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Dust bottom of pan lightly with cornmeal.

  6. Step 6

    Transfer dough to baking sheet, and, using your hands, stretch it to the edges of the baking sheet. Dough will spring back: Let it rest again for a few minutes; it may take several attempts to fill entire baking sheet evenly.

  7. Step 7

    Cover stretched dough loosely with a damp kitchen towel (or use an inverted rimmed baking sheet), set in a somewhat-warm place, and let rise to top of baking sheet, or slightly higher, about 40 minutes.

  8. Step 8

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until nicely browned. Cool on a rack and cut into 4-inch squares. (The extra focaccia trimmings are delicious toasted.) Split squares horizontally and reheat before serving.

Tip
  • Dough may be prepared through Step 2 up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated in a resealable plastic bag. If you'd prefer to make individual buns, weigh out 4-ounce/120-gram pieces of dough. Form into balls, then flatten. Place 3 inches apart on an oiled, cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. Cover loosely with a damp kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until nicely browned.

Ratings

4 out of 5
337 user ratings
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Comments

christine

Let's stop covering things with plastic wrap-not recyclable- use a shower cap or a plate or a damp tea towel.

Carole Cassidy

I bought a bunch of “shower caps” in 3 sizes on Amazon a while back. They are great, reusable many times, easy to wash, and save soooo much plastic wrap.

hermione

I agree. You can also use paper or parchment. Grocery paper bags that are biodegradable are good. Smear a bit of oil inside the bag on the part that will be above the dough. Then put the baking dish or bowl inside and pinch the open end of the bag with a couple of wooden clothespins. Parchment is also good. Just tent it above the dough. Unlike damp tea towels, it doesn't stick to the dough. But I like your plate idea the best and will definitely try it.

Sylvia

Not really what I think of as focaccia but a good solid bread. I ended up making part of it as buns as per the tip and that was actually my favorite; I'll do that again for sandwiches!

chris c

Made the focaccia with veggies on top, added just before the bake. Used wet towel instead of plastic wrap. Turned out great!

Jennie

Feh. No flavor, inferior texture. Taking others' advice, I cooked it in a larger pan, hoping to avoid the undercooking of the middle--instead, got a big old cracker. Nothing focaccia-like about this tasteless bread.

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