Grape focaccia with Parmesan cream
- Difficulty: Average
- Prep time: 60 min
- Cook time: 45 min
- Serving: 6
- Note + 2 hours and 40 minutes of rising
PRESENTATION
Grape Focaccia with Parmesan Cream is built on a soft, yeast-leavened dough with rosemary worked into the base. White grapes turn gently sweet and tart as the bread bakes, releasing that agrodolce quality directly into the crumb rather than from a sauce or marinade. The whole thing finishes with small piped dollops of velvety Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cream — rich, intense, and just enveloping enough to pull the flavors together without overwhelming either the fruit or the bread underneath. The sweet and savory pairing is more balanced than it sounds.
The grapes bring sweetness and a clean acidity that cuts through the cheese's saltiness, and the contrast holds from the first bite through the last. Because the rosemary is in the dough rather than scattered on top, it anchors the flavor quietly in the background without competing with the fruit or the cream. That balance makes this grape focaccia a natural fit as an aperitivo or a starter — approachable enough to share, and distinctive enough to hold attention at the table.
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INGREDIENTS
- White grapes 1 cup (150 g)
- Whole grain flour 2 cups (250 g)
- Manitoba flour 2 ½ cups (300 g)
- Fresh brewer's yeast 1 tbsp (10 g)
- Wildflower honey 1 ½ tsp (10 g)
- Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp (30 g)
- Fine salt 1.8 tsp (10 g)
- Rosemary 0.6 oz (17 g)
- Water 1.8 cups (420 g) - at room temperature
- For the Parmigiano Reggiano cream
- Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Fresh liquid cream 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Black pepper to taste
How to prepare Grape focaccia with Parmesan cream
To prepare the grape focaccia with Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cream, put the two flours 1, the crumbled yeast 2 and the honey 3 into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Turn the machine on and add the water (at room temperature) 4 in a steady stream until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. You should mix at a fairly high speed for about 10 minutes, until the dough is well developed and elastic. Meanwhile, chop 12 g of rosemary (about 0.42 oz) – reserve the rest for garnishing the focaccia. Then add the salt 5, let it absorb while working the dough for another three to four minutes, and then add 30 g of oil (about 2 tbsp) 6.
Once the oil has been absorbed 7, transfer the dough to a work surface and add the 12 g (about 0.42 oz) of chopped fresh rosemary. Lightly oil the work surface and give the dough reinforcement folds by folding the edges toward the center 9.
Shape the dough into a loaf 10 and place it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to rise until doubled in size, which will take about 2 hours. Once the dough has risen 11, grease a 15 1/3 x 10 1/4 in baking pan (39 x 26 cm).
Pour the dough into the pan and spread it with your hands until it covers the entire pan, make the classic dimples with your fingertips 13, drizzle a little oil, scatter the remaining rosemary and the grapes cut in half and pitted. Let the focaccia rise again covered with plastic wrap for another 40 minutes. At this point bake in a conventional oven at 428°F for 40 minutes.
While the focaccia bakes, warm the cream in a small saucepan, then add the Parmigiano Reggiano PDO off the heat 16, stir well and add freshly ground pepper 17. Set aside to let it cool slightly 18.
Remove the focaccia from the oven 19, let it cool, then spread it with dollops of the cheese cream. Cut your grape focaccia with Parmigiano cream into slices and enjoy immediately 21.