Focaccia di Marta Pizza Recipe
This recipe is called “Focaccia di Marta’ as I originally developed it for a Romana Pizzeria in Chelsea, called…. Marta! It’s on their menu now, so if you're ever in London, please come and try it, and if you come on a Tuesday evening, you might even find me making it for you! Thanks to Rich Payne (Dough & Behold) for providing this tasty recipe!
- Baker: Rich Payne
- IG: @dough_and_behold
- Makes: 10 x 170g dough balls
- Prep time: 20 hrs room temp (21ºc) total proving time
- Bake time: 2-3mins in Ooni pizza oven @350ºc
- Flours used: Cotswold Pizza Flour
Focaccia di Marta Recipe
Dough Method: Using Ooni Halo Pro Mixer
This recipe is specific to these timings and temperatures. 20 hours at room temp (RT) 21°c (Start mixing at 8pm the day before, to bake between 4-6pm the following day - 20hrs in total)
- First off, add 90% of your water to the bowl.
- Crumble all your Fresh yeast into the bowl (Or dried yeast) and whisk gently to dissolve.
- Add all your flour to the bowl
- Turn your mixer on to a slow mixing speed (30-40%) for 2-3 minutes and wait for the ingredients to combine roughly. This is a low hydration dough, so it will look quite dry at this point. Turn the mixer up to a higher speed 70-80% for 3 mins.
- Add a little bit more water but not all of it whilst this mixes. After 3 mins at high speed your dough should be looking much smoother. If there are no dry bits of flour, cover the bowl and let it rest for 30-45mins. This allows the dough to relax and absorb the water properly and let the gluten begin to develop.
- After around 45 mins, add all your salt into the mixer and all the remaining water.
- Mix at a high speed for 2 mins while the salt and water is mixed in, then let it rest for another 5 mins. Turn the mixer on to 50% speed and add your olive oil. I normally let it mix for about 5 mins until all the oil is absorbed, then remove your dough from the mixer and place it on a clean, dry, worksurface.
- Cover the dough with a tea towel (or place the mixing bowl over the top of it) and let it rest for 10 mins.
- After 10 mins, shape your into a ball. I normally give it a few folds, just turning it in to itself a few times, and then I use a dough scraper to kind of push it along your work surface to develop surface tension, so you end up with a nice, tight, smooth dough ball.
- Place this Dough ball in a lightly oiled container with a lid.
- Leave out at room temp overnight to bulk prove.
- At 8am the next morning, empty the dough from your container out onto a work surface and divide it into 10 x 170g dough balls.
- Weigh the doughballs to make sure they are all even weights.
- To shape the dough ball grab it in one hand and fold it into itself a few times to make a tight, smooth ball.
- Once you are happy your dough balls have enough surface tension place them into either a small dough tray with a lid, or for best results at home, I oil an individual breakfast bowl and place the Dough ball inside and cover it with cling film (or even better you can get silicon covers online that mean you use less cling film plastic)
- Once your dough balls are covered, leave them out at room temp for another 5 -6 hours and you are ready to bake. (You can ball up the night before you go to bed if you want to give your dough balls even longer time to rest) Both methods work well.
Opening out your dough balls:
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So, you’re ready to make your Romana Focaccia di Marta
You will need a separate bowl or dinner plate with two or three handfuls of fine Semola / Semolina flour. This is to drop your dough ball into before you open it out.
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Gently place your doughball into the floured bowl and turn it a few times in the Semola flour making sure it is completely covered in flour and there are no sticky bits of dough remaining. This is important as it will stop your dough sticking to your pizza peel once you have stretched your dough ball. Once your dough ball is completely covered in Semola flour, gently remove it from the bowl and place onto your clean, dry, working surface, and add another handful of Semola flour on top.
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Now, with your hands in a kind of V-shape, fingers together, press out and flatten your doughball into a small circle about 6-7 inches in size, then, take a rolling pin and roll out your dough as thin as you possibly can. If you find your rolling pin sticks at any point, then add a little more Semola flour on top and keep rolling until you have a super thin circle that will be between 13-14 inches. It doesn't matter if it’s not a perfect circle as once you have rolled it you can then trim the edges with a dough cutter to make it perfect! Move this first base to one side and repeat this process with your second doughball.
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Once you have rolled out both dough balls, take your first base and using a carton of Nonno Nanni Stracchino 125g. It’s a sticky cheese, so I use a dessert soon and scoop out spoonfuls until you have used the whole pack, and space them evenly around your dough ball, but not too close to the edges. Then open a pack of ‘Nduja and break off small amounts and place them evenly in and around the spoonfuls of Stracchino.
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Once you have placed all the cheese & ‘Nduja on the first base, you then take your second rolled out base and gently lay it over the top of your topped first base. Take a sharp knife and make a small slit where the dough rests on top of the spoonfuls of Stracchino and ‘Nduja. When it bakes, the cheese and ‘Nduja oils will ooze out of these slits and make your focaccia di Marta super tasty!
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Finally, add a swirl / drizzle of olive oil on top.
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You’re almost ready now, all that remains is to press down hard with your fingers, or even your fist around the very edges of this focaccia, effectively sealing the two dough bases together so that not of the cheese and ‘Nduja inside can escape out of the edges when they melt. Once more, with a pizza cutter, gently trim the edges again to make a nice circle.
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You are now ready to launch!
Baking the Focaccia di Marta
For the perfect bake I like to heat my pizza oven up to around 350ºc - 400ºc 30 mins before I bake.
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This recipe is also possible on a baking steel (follow my preheating methods for that in my “Baking Steel Pizza Recipe”
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The best thing about this focaccia di Marta is that because the dough is such a low hydration it will slide easily onto your pizza peel. Give it a little shimmy once its on your peel to check its not sticking and release any excess semola flour on the base.
- Take your peel to the pizza oven and in once smooth motion, launch it directly into the centre of the oven on full flame, then once launched, reduce the flame to a low setting.
- After about 30 - 40 seconds you will see the dough begin to crisp up and bubble. As soon as the edges closest to the flames start to brown, give your Focaccia di Marta at 180º turn.
- As soon as the whole thing has taken on an even colour / browning (about another minute or two later) Use your judgement here. If it looks done to you, then remove from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool, then after a minute, place it onto a cutting board and with a pizza cutter, slice it into 9 pieces, like you are slicing a Noughts & Crosses board on your focaccia.
- I then take my jar of White Truffle honey, and with a teaspoon, or honey drizzle, drizzle a fine amount all over the focaccia, then then add a sprinkle of flaked sea salt.
- Serve immediately to friends and watch their eyes roll back in pleasure at this super light and tasty treat!
