What’s cooking? La Furtuna Farm Olive Oil Garden Focaccia Bread

Mangia, Mangia.

In celebration of the olive harvest season, we host a celebration on La Furtuna Farm to bring together the farmers and their families to indulge in sweets and savory treats made with the first batch of EVOO of the season.

Loria Stern

This year, we’ve teamed up with Los Angeles-based tastemaker, Loria Stern, to bring you a little slice of the celebration: a Furtuna Skin Focaccia Recipe made with our Bona Furtuna Heritage Blend Olive Oil.

Focaccia is a bread of Italian antiquity. As documented by ancient writings— the Focacce is derived from the Latin word for Hearth, which translates to the “place for baking.” Focaccia was originally recorded as the food of farmers and peasants who used what was available from their gardens, fields and neighboring gardens. Fresh olive oil, vegetables and herbs were used in the dough as they were seasonally available.

Chef, baker, botanist, gardener, and artist, Loria is redefining the menu with an artful array of creations that blur the line between edible and exquisite. Inspired by the ingredients in our Biphase Moisturizing Oil, Loria created a unique recipe that is tribute to the 800-acre La Furtuna Farm in Corleone, Sicily which is home to a number of medicinal flowers that power our wildly potent formulations.

This focaccia recipe’s garden-scape decoration features roses from red peppers, marigolds and poppies from orange peppers and tomatoes, Canduela from yellow peppers, and olive branches from asparagus and scallion fronds. The bread was studded with capers and olives, sage and rosemary from Loria’s own garden, and finally, fennel pollen from the La Furtuna Farm.

Let’s get cooking!

La Furtuna Farm Garden Focaccia

By: Loria Stern

Ingredients:

4 3/4 cups (585 g) all-purpose flour

11/2 cups (360g) lukewarm water

2 tablespoon Bona Furtuna olive oil (32g), plus more for greasing

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (20g)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (3g)

1 sachet (7g) of dried yeast

Colorful Vegetables: red, orange and yellow mini bell peppers, heirloom grape tomatoes, asparagus, scallion, capers, olives, sage, rosemary, and fennel pollen.

*optional: 1 teaspoon fennel pollen

Instructions:

Proof the Yeast: Add warm water and honey or maple syrup to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and stir to combine. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Give the yeast a quick stir with a wooden spoon to mix it in with the water. Cover with a kitchen towel and then let it sit for 5-10 minute until the yeast is activated and foamy.

Knead: Set the mixer to low speed, and gradually add flour, olive oil and salt. Increase speed to medium-low and continue mixing the dough for 5 minutes or until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

First Rise: Remove dough from the mixing bowl and use your hands to shape it into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a touch of Furtuna olive oil, then place the dough ball back in the bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. Place in a warm location and let the dough rise for 45 minutes or until it has nearly doubled in size.

Prep Veggies: While the dough is rising, prep your vegetables. Cut red bell peppers into rounds for the rose decoration, and the yellow and orange bell peppers into strips for the marigold and sunflowers. Cut several orange bell peppers into petals shapes for the poppies. Trim the asparagus and scallions long ways for stems of the olive branch. Chop kalamata or black olives for flower centers.

Second Dough Rise + Decoration: Once dough rises for the first time, punch down and then put your dough onto an olive oil greased baking sheet and press the dough down so it covers the baking sheet and is about 1/2” tall. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Now start decorating your blank canvas focaccia, imagining the stunning La Furtuna Farm. Remember that the dough grows and the veggies shrink while baking, so for bright and best results, cover the dough completely with various vegetable flowers and herb greenery. Before placing in the oven, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden and cooked through

Serve: Like most baked goods, this focaccia is best served straight from the oven. You can also let it cool completely and wrap in tin foil and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Furtuna Blog