Ligurian Flatbread (Focaccia Genovese)
A soft, pillowy flatbread dimpled by hand, bathed in a salty olive oil brine before baking so the crust turns golden and glossy while the inside stays airy and moist. The true Genoese breakfast bread, best eaten warm the day it's baked.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Mix and knead
In a large bowl, stir the flour, yeast and salt together, then add the lukewarm water and 40 ml of the olive oil. Mix until it comes together, then knead on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes. The dough should be soft, a little sticky and stretchy, not stiff: a wet dough is what gives focaccia its open, airy crumb.
- 500 g flour
- 350 ml lukewarm water
- 7 g yeast
- 12 g fine salt
- 40 ml olive oil
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, elastic and springs back slowly when poked
First rise
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size.
✅ Done when: the dough has visibly doubled and feels light and puffy
Oil the pan and stretch
Pour the remaining 30 ml of olive oil onto a 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 in) baking tray and spread it with your hands so the whole surface is coated. Tip the dough onto the tray and gently stretch and press it with oiled fingers to fill the tray, without punching out all the air. Cover loosely and let it rest.
- 30 ml olive oil
✅ Done when: the dough has relaxed and fills the tray evenly, with no springing back
Dimple deeply
Dip your fingertips in a little olive oil and press them straight down into the dough, almost to the bottom of the tray, all over the surface. These deep dimples are the signature of focaccia: they trap pockets of oil and brine, which is what makes the crumb so moist and the little craters so golden.
✅ Done when: the dough is covered edge to edge with deep, evenly spaced dimples
Brine, salt and second rise
Whisk the water for the brine with the coarse sea salt until mostly dissolved, then pour it evenly over the dough so it pools in the dimples. Scatter the rosemary leaves on top. Let the dough rise again, uncovered, until visibly puffy.
- 100 ml water
- 10 g coarse sea salt
- 2 tbsp rosemary leaves
✅ Done when: the dough looks bubbly and has risen further, with the brine mostly absorbed
Bake until golden
Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C (428°F), on the lower-middle shelf, until deeply golden all over and the surface looks blistered and shiny.
✅ Done when: the top is golden brown and the base feels crisp when lifted with a spatula
Finish and serve
As soon as it comes out of the oven, drizzle a little more olive oil over the top so it soaks into the hot crust. Let it cool for a few minutes on a rack, then cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
- to taste olive oil, to drizzle
Mix and knead
In a large bowl, stir the flour, yeast and salt together, then add the lukewarm water and 40 ml of the olive oil. Mix until it comes together, then knead on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes. The dough should be soft, a little sticky and stretchy, not stiff: a wet dough is what gives focaccia its open, airy crumb.
- 500 g flour
- 350 ml lukewarm water
- 7 g yeast
- 12 g fine salt
- 40 ml olive oil
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, elastic and springs back slowly when poked
First rise
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size.
✅ Done when: the dough has visibly doubled and feels light and puffy
Oil the pan and stretch
Pour the remaining 30 ml of olive oil onto a 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 in) baking tray and spread it with your hands so the whole surface is coated. Tip the dough onto the tray and gently stretch and press it with oiled fingers to fill the tray, without punching out all the air. Cover loosely and let it rest.
- 30 ml olive oil
✅ Done when: the dough has relaxed and fills the tray evenly, with no springing back
Dimple deeply
Dip your fingertips in a little olive oil and press them straight down into the dough, almost to the bottom of the tray, all over the surface. These deep dimples are the signature of focaccia: they trap pockets of oil and brine, which is what makes the crumb so moist and the little craters so golden.
✅ Done when: the dough is covered edge to edge with deep, evenly spaced dimples
Brine, salt and second rise
Whisk the water for the brine with the coarse sea salt until mostly dissolved, then pour it evenly over the dough so it pools in the dimples. Scatter the rosemary leaves on top. Let the dough rise again, uncovered, until visibly puffy.
- 100 ml water
- 10 g coarse sea salt
- 2 tbsp rosemary leaves
✅ Done when: the dough looks bubbly and has risen further, with the brine mostly absorbed
Bake until golden
Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C (428°F), on the lower-middle shelf, until deeply golden all over and the surface looks blistered and shiny.
✅ Done when: the top is golden brown and the base feels crisp when lifted with a spatula
Finish and serve
As soon as it comes out of the oven, drizzle a little more olive oil over the top so it soaks into the hot crust. Let it cool for a few minutes on a rack, then cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
- to taste olive oil, to drizzle
The Story Behind the Dish
Flatbreads baked on hot stones near the hearth, or focus in Latin, go back to Roman times, and some food historians see focaccia's name and roots there. It was in Liguria, and above all in Genoa, that the dough was enriched with local olive oil and finished with a salty brine, turning a simple hearth bread into something distinctive.
For generations, Genoese bakers have opened their ovens early so that focaccia is ready for breakfast, often dunked into a cup of cappuccino or a glass of white wine. It is also baked for weddings, festivals and everyday lunches, cut into squares and eaten with the hands.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Its deeply dimpled, oil-glossed crust and soft, moist crumb make it instantly recognizable, and it is considered one of the finest expressions of Ligurian olive oil.
💡 Fun Fact
In Genoa it is completely normal to see people dipping a square of warm focaccia straight into their morning cappuccino.
Liguria (Genoa), Italy
44.41°N, 8.95°E
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