Start preparing the dough in the evening, you will enjoy a digestible and fluffy focaccia the following day;
Prepare the first dough: combine 140g of flour (or the mix with Manitoba flour) with 100g of water;
Crumble the yeast and add it to the mixture. If you use dry yeast, dissolve it in 30g of total water; use lukewarm water but be careful because if it is too warm, it will kill the yeast;
Knead the mixture in a stand mixer (such as kitchen-aid) with the flat beater until smooth and elastic (the gluten has formed). The mixture is compact and it doesn’t stick to the beater (it will take about 3-4 minutes);
At the beginning the mixture may be a little sticky and the stand mixer might work with difficulty: knead at low speed and dough will develop little by little;
If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead for about 5 minutes;
Let the dough rise into the bowl covered with cling film for about 30 minuets. If you leave it on the pastry board, cover it with a tea-towel to protect it from air streams. I usually pre-heat the oven at 25-26 °C (77-79°F) then I put the dough onto the upper rack of the switched off and closed oven: it will rise evenly without getting dry;
Make the dough stronger: when the initial dough has doubled its volume, add the remaining flour and water, the honey, and the malt;
Knead in the stand mixer with the hook for about 5 minutes at low speed, until a smooth and sticky “ball”;
Eventually, add the oil and salt a little at a time: the dough will easily release from the hook and the sides of the bowl;
Transfer the dough to a marble or wooden board and fold it as it were the pizza dough;
Roll it out in the shape of a rectangle. Fold in two, flatten and rotate it at the right angles and fold it in two again. Repeat this operation three or four times, at least, the dough will get richer in air, and dry. I usually make this operation only once, but 3 times would guarantee the best result; the dough should sit to rest about 15-20 minutes after every folding process;
After the last folding process, put the dough back into the bowl, oil it and cover the bowl with cling film and a tea towel;
Set aside in the fridge overnight, from 8 pm to 10 am, for instance;
Take the dough out of the fridge and let it stand for 10 minutes at room temperature.
Sprinkle some flour, and stretch the dough with a rolling pin;
Roll it in a rectangular shape, but do not overstretch the dough;
Grease a 35x28 cm baking tray with very little oil, and gently transfer the dough into it; be careful not to tear it!
Cover with cling film and let it rise for one hour;
After one hour pat the dough using your hands to fit the tray; be careful not to break the dough;
Cover with cling film again and let it rise from 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature ( I usually put it into the switched off oven);
Now, poke the holes in the dough: flour your fingers (if you have long nails use your knuckles, otherwise you will break the dough and stop the rising);
The holes should be quite deep and close one to the other; it should look like a mattress. Start from the side which is the farthest from you and get to the one which is the closest to your belly;
Prepare the salamoia: combine salt, oil, and water (at 30°C- 86°F). The salamoia will keep the dough moist and give its holes the characteristic white color;
Stir well until the salt has evenly melted in the water, pour it onto the focaccia to fill every hole completely. Don’t worry: it is not too much, the brine will be soaked up by the focaccia little by little;
Let it stand for 1 hour and half at room temperate until the the dough has soaked the salamoia;
Add a little oil and a handful of coarse salt;
Pre-heat the static oven at 220°C (428°F) and bake it on the lower rack for ten minutes, then transfer the tray onto the medium rack and bake for 5-10 minutes more (it must not get too dry),
Take your focaccia out of the oven and let it cool down on a cooling rack to prevent it from getting chewy;
And the finishing touch: brush it with a little only and grill it in the oven for 1 minute…your focaccia genovese si really to be…loved … and eaten!