focaccia or panini? yes.

We have a friend from Italy who says there are places in Italy where focaccia is what we know as a panini.  That is kind of cool, because if you ask me, focaccia is the best kind of bread for a panini.  And if you ask him this recipe produces authentic tasting focaccia.

The recipe is from cooksillustrated.com (love it!) and it does take some planning ahead but it is not hard.

Ingredients

Biga

• 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) bread flour
• 1/3 cup (2 2/3 ounces) warm water (100-110 degrees F)
• 1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

Dough

• 2 1/2cups (12 1/2 ounces) bread flour , plus extra for shaping
• 1 1/4cups (10 ounces) warm water (100-110 degrees F)
• 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 2 tsp kosher salt plus 1/2 tsp extra for topping
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Instructions

1. FOR THE BIGA: Combine flour, water, and yeast in large bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (about 70 degrees) overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.) Use immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 3 days (allow to stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding with recipe.)
2. FOR THE DOUGH: Stir flour, water, and yeast into biga with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 15 minutes.
3. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over dough; stir into dough until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 30 minutes. Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with nonstick cooking spray; fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 turns). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, turning, and rising 2 more times, for total of three 30-minute rises. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees at least 30 minutes before baking.
4. Gently transfer dough to lightly floured counter. Lightly dust top of dough with flour and divide in half. Shape each piece of dough into 5-inch round by gently tucking under edges. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Sprinkle each pan with ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Place round of dough in pan, top side down; slide dough around pan to coat bottom and sides, then flip over. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover pans with plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.
5. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan. (If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.) Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 25 to 30 times, popping any large bubbles. Sprinkle rosemary evenly over top of dough. Let dough rest until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Place pans on baking stone and reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake until tops are golden brown, 25 to 28 minutes, switching placement of pans halfway through baking. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pan and return to wire rack. Brush tops with any oil remaining in pan. Let cool 30 minutes before serving.

Interesting points and techniques - The biga starter is great, it adds awesome flavor and helps texture.  I have done it all in one day, only letting the biga ferment for 3-4 hours, it still good but not as good as the full 8-24.

Leaving the salt out until after the dough rests is called autolysis.  It makes a definite difference in the elasticity of the dough.  You do have to be careful to mix it in completely which is a little challenging when doing it by hand but definitely doable and worth it.

If you wanna make it into a panini and you don't have a panini maker, a griddle works just as well. 

Simply press it with something heavy, this cast iron works great.  A regualr skillet weighted with cans or something would work too.  It isn't going to get very hot on top.