Wandering Bob
Über Member
Back in the early 1980s I used to frequent a wonderful shop in Berwick Street, in London, called Fratelli Camisa. It was an Italian delicatessen that also sold a very good range of English cheeses. This was where I first encountered focaccia. It was quite a flat bread (almost unleavened) that was dimpled and sprinkled with salt crystals.
As I was making bread at home by then, I tried to replicate the focaccia. I failed to get even close to Camisa’s version: however, I developed my own spin on it – I was making what was in effect a wholemeal pizza dough, indented (dimpled), and smothered with sea salt crystals. At some stage, I added chopped rosemary to this – my own take on focaccia al rosmarino. I then discovered that smearing olive oil on the baking tray, prior to the dough going into the oven, gave the bread another dimension – I guess it might be close to a ‘deep pan-fried pizza’, or a superior version of fried bread.
Over the course of the last 35 years, I’ve moved even further away from Camisa’s focaccia. I stopped calling it focaccia too – preferring to name what I bake as a ‘herb flatbread’. I have developed (but still not perfected) two versions of this herb flatbread – each with some twists.
Thyme bread (or pain au thyme) – in its simplest form, this is a round flattish bread made with strong white bread flour with a teaspoon of dried thyme added to the dough. (I have some proving as I’m writing this and the aroma from the dough is mouth-watering). Additions to this basic thyme bread include the addition of both smashed and chopped garlic, oil on the baking tray, and either a grated or sliced Comté or a shaved Basque brebis cheese topping. If all these additions are combined, it produces a ‘Thyme bread De-Luxe’. I have sometimes made this bread with a mixture of strong white bread flour and a good English wholemeal bread flour too – it makes for a slightly heavier bread, but it’s even tastier.
Rosemary bread (or pain au romarin) – as with the thyme bread, I tend to use a strong white bread flour for this. Fresh rosemary straight from the garden is much better than dried rosemary. Garlic is almost a prerequisite for this flatbread. I also prefer to oil the baking tray too. But I have yet to find a suitable cheese topping for this – I’m still looking for a sympa cheese/rosemary flavour combination.
I will post a couple of recipes and photos for these two herb flatbreads soon (and cross-refer back to this thread).
I still have dreams of replicating Camisa’s focaccia – I haven’t quite given up on it yet. @MypinchofItaly – perhaps you could post a recipe for a simple focaccia sometime? - ma non è urgente !
As I was making bread at home by then, I tried to replicate the focaccia. I failed to get even close to Camisa’s version: however, I developed my own spin on it – I was making what was in effect a wholemeal pizza dough, indented (dimpled), and smothered with sea salt crystals. At some stage, I added chopped rosemary to this – my own take on focaccia al rosmarino. I then discovered that smearing olive oil on the baking tray, prior to the dough going into the oven, gave the bread another dimension – I guess it might be close to a ‘deep pan-fried pizza’, or a superior version of fried bread.
Over the course of the last 35 years, I’ve moved even further away from Camisa’s focaccia. I stopped calling it focaccia too – preferring to name what I bake as a ‘herb flatbread’. I have developed (but still not perfected) two versions of this herb flatbread – each with some twists.
Thyme bread (or pain au thyme) – in its simplest form, this is a round flattish bread made with strong white bread flour with a teaspoon of dried thyme added to the dough. (I have some proving as I’m writing this and the aroma from the dough is mouth-watering). Additions to this basic thyme bread include the addition of both smashed and chopped garlic, oil on the baking tray, and either a grated or sliced Comté or a shaved Basque brebis cheese topping. If all these additions are combined, it produces a ‘Thyme bread De-Luxe’. I have sometimes made this bread with a mixture of strong white bread flour and a good English wholemeal bread flour too – it makes for a slightly heavier bread, but it’s even tastier.
Rosemary bread (or pain au romarin) – as with the thyme bread, I tend to use a strong white bread flour for this. Fresh rosemary straight from the garden is much better than dried rosemary. Garlic is almost a prerequisite for this flatbread. I also prefer to oil the baking tray too. But I have yet to find a suitable cheese topping for this – I’m still looking for a sympa cheese/rosemary flavour combination.
I will post a couple of recipes and photos for these two herb flatbreads soon (and cross-refer back to this thread).
I still have dreams of replicating Camisa’s focaccia – I haven’t quite given up on it yet. @MypinchofItaly – perhaps you could post a recipe for a simple focaccia sometime? - ma non è urgente !
