Fugazzeta Food

FUGAZZETA - ARGENTINA'S DEEP DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Warm the milk in a pot on the stove to between 100 and 105 degrees F. Pour in a small bowl, and mix in sugar and yeast. Cover and leave on counter for 10 minutes to activate yeast.
• Mix flour, salt, and 1 ½ tbsp olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast mixture and knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes. Add more flour or water as needed. Once a stretchy dough is made, cover and leave on counter for an hour.
• Add your onions to a large bowl of very cold salt water. Let them soak for 30 minutes, then drain the water and dry the onions.
• Separate the dough into 2 balls. Use 2 tbsp of olive oil to grease a large skillet (cast iron or stainless steel with a metal handle). Press 1 ball into the skillet, stretching into a disc that covers the bottom and an inch up the side of the skillet.
• Layer the mozzarella evenly over this layer of dough, and sprinkle the feta cheese evenly.
• Roll out the second ball of dough, lay it on top of the skillet. Push the edges down and seal the two layers of dough together, encasing the cheeses in the middle.
• Brush the top with a little olive oil, about 1 tbsp. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and garlic over the top. Cover the top with the thin slices of onion. Sprinkle fresh rosemary leaves and dried oregano over the top.
• Bake in the oven at 450 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top with crispy onions. Enjoy!

FUGAZZA (ARGENTINIAN FOCACCIA) RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the warm water (100 F to 105 F) in a small bowl. Stir the sugar into the water and sprinkle over the yeast. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly.
• Place the flour, 5 tablespoons of the olive oil, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix briefly using the dough hook.
• Add the yeast mixture and begin to knead the dough with the dough hook. The mixture should come together as a soft, stretchy dough, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add a bit more flour if the mixture is too wet, and add a bit more water if the mixture seems dry, crumbly, or overly firm. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic.
• Coat a bowl with about 1 tablespoon of oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• While the dough is rising, peel the onion and slice it into very thin strips. Place in a bowl of cold salted water and soak for 30 minutes.
• Drain the onions well and dry them with paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 450 F. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and shape it into a smooth ball.
• Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a 14-inch pizza pan with 1-inch sides. Place the ball of dough in the middle of the pan and flatten gently with your fingers. Let the dough relax for 10 minutes.
• Continue to flatten the dough while pushing it toward the sides of the pan, letting it relax in between stretching, until the dough covers the bottom of the pan.
• Sprinkle the onions over the top of the dough. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the onions and sprinkle with the dried oregano.
• Bake the fugazza for 20 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown. You can brown the onions under the broiler for the last 3 minutes of cooking if they aren't browned enough.
• If desired, remove the fugazza from the oven and top with thin slices of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Return to the oven and bake until the fugazza is golden brown and crispy around the edges, about 5 more minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cut into slices to serve.

FOUGASSE

Steps:

• Pour water into a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast into water, and let it stand undisturbed until dissolved. Stir in 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon herbs, sea salt, and 2 tablespoons oil until well blended. Mix in the flour, 1 cup at a time until a thick and somewhat sticky dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Form into a ball, and place into an oiled bowl. Flip the dough to coat the surface. Cover the bowl with a clean dishtowel, and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down, and divide in half. Shape into an irregular ovals, about 1 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle cornmeal over 2 baking sheets; transfer dough to pans. Brush each loaf with olive oil, and sprinkle the remaining herbs on top. Make several slashes in the bread, cutting through the dough with a knife. Cover the loaves with clean dishtowels. Let rise again until the dough begins to rise again, about 20 minutes.
• Place baking sheets into a preheated 450 degree F (220 degree C) oven. Quickly splash a small amount of water onto the floor of your oven to create steam, and close the oven door. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

FUGAZZA

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast with sugar over milk and water in a small bowl and proof until foamy, about 10-15 minutes.
• Combine flour and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the center and add yeast mixture.
• Blend flour into yeast mixture and knead about 15 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
• Oil large bowl.
• Add dough, turning to coat.
• Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free area until double in size.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Oil 15 inch pizza pan.
• Roll dough out on lightly-floured surface to 13-14 inch round, ½ inch thick.
• Fit dough into pan.
• Spread with onion, leaving ½ inch border at edges.
• Cover onion with cheese and sprinkle with oregano, crumbling oregano between fingers.
• Bake until golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes.

FUGAZZETA (STUFFED PIZZA)

Steps:

• Dough
• Mix the dough ingredients in a bowl, adding the water slowly if you change the flour types. Aim for an almost hand-kneadable dryness. Cover and let it rest about 20 minutes; it will become even more pliable and less sticky.
• Do one round of stretching and folding of the dough. This is mostly to ensure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Cover and let it rise until it has expanded by 25-75%. If you'd like to use the dough immediately, let it rise to doubling or 100%. Otherwise refrigerate it overnight to several days.
• Pull the dough from the refrigerator 1-4 hours before you would like to bake, depending on how expanded it is in the container.
• Filling and Topping Prep
• Slice the onion (I like half rings) and place the slices in a bowl with saltwater to soak for at least an hour.
• Defrost the spinach and drain it, and further squeeze out as much water as possible.
• Slice the cheeses you plan to use and measure out your seeds, herbs, hot pepper flakes etc.
• Assembly
• Preheat your oven to 425F, with a shelf in the middle position.
• Divide the fermented dough in two pieces, about 2/3 for the base and 1/3 for the top.
• Roll the two pieces into balls, cover, and let them rest about 20 minutes.
• Drain the onions, pat them dry, and toss them with olive oil. If you want the onions a little more caramelized than what you see in my photos, give them a brief saute in a pan as well. I didn't do this for either of my fugazzetas, but will try it on my next one.
• Using a rolling pin, roll both dough balls into rounds, one big enough to go up the sides of the pan, and the smaller circle to just reach across the pan.
• Oil the bottom of your pan.
• Transfer the larger dough round to the pan. You can roll it around your pin, and then unroll it onto the pan.
• Fill first with 2/3 the cheese and the nigella seeds, then all the spinach and optional salt, followed by the rest of the cheese.
• Brush water on the perimeter of the base dough where it will bind to the top dough.
• Cover the filling with the smaller dough round and pinch the two doughs together.
• Poke holes in the top dough with a fork to let air escape.
• Top with the onion slices and load into the oven.
• Bake
• Bake for 25 minutes at 425F, then add a baking sheet directly under the pan.
• Switch your oven to broil, still 425F, and continue baking for 10 minutes more.
• If your oven only broils at 500F, move the pan to the lowest shelf possible and keep an eye on the onions.
• Check on the top of the dough by moving some of the onion slices to the side. The dough won't necessarily look dry, because of the oil, but it should be golden and a little puffy. If the dough looks raw, continue broiling for about five minutes more with the onions on the periphery.
• After pulling the fugazzeta from the oven, sprinkle on the oregano and optional red pepper flakes.
• Serving
• For a dramatic presentation (gooey cheese stretching from each slice), slide the fugazzeta onto a cutting board and serve piping hot. Otherwise let it cool about 10 minutes before cutting.