Sardenaira (Focaccia from Sanremo)

By Fulvio Marino at Mulino Marino in Piedmont.
 

This delicious recipe is originally from Sanremo, in western Liguria, but it comes to us from the nearby region, Piedmont, from Fulvio Marino, the third generation of the millers at Mulino Marino.

Mulino Marino produces organic flour from locally-grown organic grains and love to use their high-quality products in recipes that they share.

Enjoy Sardenaira on one of our tours in Liguria or make it with this recipe at home, and feel like you’re in Italy from your own kitchen!

Ingredients for 8 people (makes 2 loaves, each in a 9×13-inch tray)

• 500 grams (4 cups) all-purpose flour (Fulvio recommends Mulino Marino‘s Type "0")
• 330 grams (1 and 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp) water
• 100 grams EVOO (8 Tbsp) 
• 7 grams of dry yeast (2 tsp)
• 5 grams sugar (1 tsp)
• 12 grams salt (2 tsp)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup of tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup olives 
• 2 Tbsp capers in vinegar (rinsed with water)
• 8 fillets of cured anchovies in EVOO (very typical in Sanremo but you can omit this ingredient if you don’t like them)

Directions:

• Pour the flour into a large bowl 
• In another small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp of water with salt
• In another bowl, combine the remaining water with yeast and sugar
• In your flour bowl, make a small "mountain" and then a "little crater" in the middle of the "mountain" and pour the water-yeast-sugar concoction into the center, slowly combining these ingredients with a fork until all the flour is combined with water
• Add the water-and-salt concoction and continue to knead
• Add 2 Tbsp of EVOO, little by little, continuing to knead until it is absorbed
• Note: The dough will be quite sticky, not dry at all
• Cover with a dish towel and let dough rise for at least 1 hour (it will grow by ~50%)
• Pour 2 Tbsp EVOO onto the center of each 9×13-inch tray, to coat the bottom well
• Slice the dough in half and place a half in each tray
• Stretch and mold the dough into the trays simply by pushing it down with your fingers
• Top the dough of each tray with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and spread evenly with a spoon
• Sprinkle with at least 1 Tbsp of EVOO on each tray
• Leave the trays in the oven (unheated) with the oven light on to allow the dough to rise another 30 minutes
• Remove the trays and pre-heat the oven to 500 F
• Bake for 10 minutes at the lower level in the oven. Then cook the remaining 5 mins at the top level or until the focaccia looks done and crispy
• Remove from the oven and decorate with slices of garlic cloves, capers, slices of olives and fillets of anchovies (if you like them)
• Place on a steel cooling rack to allow the bottom to cool
• Slice and serve

Buon appetito!