Ligurian Focaccia - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Dough
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons lard or 5 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 2/3 cups warm water, about 110
Finishing
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons coarse salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Preparation

Grease a 10-15 inch jelly-roll pan generously with olive oil.
Make the dough: stir the salt into the flour and rub in the lard or oil with your hands, making sure it is evenly absorbed by the flour.
Whisk the yeast into the water and use a large rubber spatula to stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture; stir vigorously to make an evenly moistened dough that is not necessarily very smooth.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap; let dough rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Once the dough has risen, scrape it onto the prepared pan and spread it evenly with the palms of your hands; if the dough resists, set the pan aside for 5 minutes to let the dough relax a little, then continue.
Cover dough with oiled plastic wrap and let the dough rise in the pan until it is puffy; about 30 minutes.
About 15 minutes before you are ready to bake, set a rack in the lowest level of the oven; preheat oven to 425\u00b0.
Use your index finger to dimple the dough at 1 1/2 inch intervals; drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt.
Bake the foccacia until it is deep golden in color, about 30 minutes.
Before removing the focaccia from the oven, use a spatula to lift the focaccia to make sure the bottom is well-colored and done.
Slide the focaccia from the pan onto a rack to cool.
Cut the focaccia into 2- to 3-inch squares; best eaten on the day it is made.