Zutaten
- 350 g plain flour
- 1 heaped tsp salt
- ½ sachet dried yeast
- 275 g warm water (up to 300 g)
- Butter for the tin
- 1 large sprig of rosemary
- 5–10 g habanero for the hot base; up to 50 g only for an extreme version
Zubereitung
Method
- Bring half the water to the boil with finely chopped chillies until the chillies are soft. Blend everything together.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C.
- Next, dissolve the yeast in the second half of the water, then mix it together with the salt, the water/chilli paste and the flour into a rough dough (no kneading required).
- Leave to rise for about 20 minutes, then stretch and fold the dough. Repeat twice more at 15-minute intervals (so three stretch-and-folds in total).
- Then transfer it to a proving basket or a suitable tin to rest until it has doubled in volume.
- Once risen, transfer the dough into the prepared baking tin and leave to rise for a further 30 minutes.
- Then dimple it all over with your fingers and scatter the rosemary leaves on top.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes.
- Tip: If the dough is too sticky at first, olive oil helps. It's not a problem if the oil gets worked into the dough. Olive oil can also be a good substitute for butter during proving.
- Toppings:
- You're welcome to serve the focaccia plain as a side, or dress it up with toppings to make it a meal.
- Today we're using
- Rocket
- Stracciatella
- Prosciutto
- Caramelised chillies (Santa Fe/jalapeño/something mild)
- Pistachios
- For the caramelised chillies, simply fry chilli rings hard in a pan and sprinkle over some brown sugar until it sticks to the chillies. Leave to cool briefly, then scatter over as a topping.
Safety and Storage
Only cut habaneros while wearing gloves, and clean your utensils thoroughly afterwards.
Start with 5–10 g of habanero. The higher amount of 50 g is extreme and not a general standard dose.
EIN PAAR WEITERE TIPPS FÜR DICH
No Kneading Required: The Secret to a Light, Airy Focaccia
Focaccia lives and dies by its light, open crumb – and that comes not from kneading, but from time. The dough's high water content deliberately keeps it soft and sticky; it's the repeated stretching and folding that builds the structure responsible for those characteristic large air pockets.
Why the Chilli Goes Into the Water, Not the Dough
Rather than kneading the habaneros in raw, they're boiled with half the water and blended here. That spreads the heat evenly through the whole dough instead of concentrating it in individual hot pieces – a trick that works just as well with many other yeast doughs.
Stretch and Fold Instead of Knead
Stretching and folding three times at 15-minute intervals builds tension in the dough without knocking out the air, the way classic kneading would. The dough needs rest between each step – rush it, and you lose exactly the airiness that makes a good focaccia.
From Mild to Extreme: Control the Heat Yourself
The base amount of habanero is deliberately kept modest, but experienced chilli fans can turn it up considerably. Caramelised chilli rings as a topping add extra heat and visual appeal – mild varieties like Santa Fe or jalapeño work especially well here, since the sugar rounds off the heat further as it caramelises.
Serving: Side Dish or a Meal in Its Own Right
On its own, the focaccia is a great side; with rocket, stracciatella, prosciutto and the caramelised chilli rings, it becomes a meal in its own right. The contrast between creamy stracciatella and the sweet heat of the chilli rings is what carries the flavour of this recipe.
You'll find the habaneros for this recipe in our Habanero Plants category, and mild varieties for the topping in our Heat Level 0-3 category.