Mashed Potato Focaccia Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why is my focaccia not crispy? ›

Focaccia Variations

The higher the temperature, the sooner the outside will brown and form a crust. From my experimentation, I noticed higher temperatures with a thinner dough lead to crispier focaccia. On the other hand, lower temperatures with thicker doughs yield a softer crumb.

Heat over low heat until butter melts. To mash potatoes: Press potatoes through ricer into large, heatproof bowl. Using sturdy spoon, gradually stir in milk and butter mixture. Continue stirring until potatoes are light and fluffy, seasoning generously to taste with salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

Focaccia is this magical bread that is good by itself, with sandwiches or dipped into the traditional oil and vinegar. This time I've paired it with my garlic butter for an indulgent snack that's summer picnic ready (or perfect for the Thanksgiving table).

Why is my Focaccia dense and tough? Not allowing the focaccia to proof long enough in the fridge will prevent enough gluten from being formed. This causes flat and dense focaccia once baked.

Focaccia made with high-protein bread flour produces the best results, but all-purpose flour will work as well.

Bake on a pizza stone or steel.

The best way to brown and crisp your bread's bottom crust – as well as enhance its rise – is to bake it on a preheated pizza stone or baking steel. The stone or steel, super-hot from your oven's heat, delivers a jolt of that heat to the loaf, causing it to rise quickly.

As already discussed, pastiness is caused by too much potato starch being worked into the mashed potatoes. The main way we combat this problem is by rinsing away starch, both before and after cooking potatoes for fluffy mashed potatoes. Rinsing off starch means that there is less of it that can end up in the dish.

Gordon Ramsay begins by boiling the potatoes in salted water. Next, he drains the potatoes. After that, he stirs in butter, sour cream, herbs, and seasoning. This is Gordon Ramsay's version of smashed potatoes, which differs from the one in this recipe.

The best side dishes to serve with focaccia are egg bake, shakshuka, egg roll in a bowl, mushroom soup, tomato soup, crack chicken pasta, pizza pasta, potato salad, BBQ wings, chicken meatballs, goat cheese dip, baked feta, hummus, Caprese salad, chicken coleslaw, fried chicken, roasted beef, and chickpeas with gravy.

A moderate consumption of focaccia bread can be healthy. It is because complex carbs in focaccia offer the body energy slowly and help control blood sugar levels. In addition, it gains an advantage if it contains whole wheat flour. It is also rich in vitamin, mineral, and fibre content.

What is the key to good focaccia? ›

Dimpling (aka poking holes) in focaccia helps to release gas and air, which helps your focaccia to maintain its signature flat look. At the same time, olive oil that's drizzled onto the foccacia is able to infuse into the dough for a truly wonderful flavour!

Why is my focaccia not fluffy or chewy? It could be the type of flour you used. The best flour to use to make focaccia bread is bread flour which gives you fluffy baked bread. Or, it could also be because you did not knead the dough enough for the gluten to form a structure which can result in flat or dense bread.

If your crust is becoming soft too quickly and not staying crispy you simply need to bake the bread longer. The best way to do this is to lower the temperature of your oven slightly and bake a few more minutes to achieve the same color you would have at the higher temperature.

If that moisture reaches the surface and hits cool air – e.g., typical room temperature – it condenses on the outer crust, making it soggy. If it hits warm air (your still-warm oven), it evaporates – leaving the crust crisp.