From Bari on the Apulian coast, the recipe traces back to at least the 16th century when local bakers used the bread oven's residual heat after the day's loaves came out. Apulian semola rimacinata (twice-milled durum) and the region's surplus olive oil are the structural reasons it exists; tomatoes only entered after the 1500s Columbian exchange and weren't standard topping until the 1800s.
From Bari, recipe traces back to at least the 16th century when local bakers used the bread oven's residual heat after the day's loaves. Apulian semola rimacinata (twice-milled durum) and surplus olive oil are the structural reasons it exists. Two technical points: dough is around 80% hydration with boiled mashed potato (holds moisture for a day); tomatoes go in raw, salted and pressed — pre-cooking floods the dough.
A thick, dimpled wheel about two fingers high, golden from olive oil pooled in the wells. Cherry tomatoes are pressed cut-side down so they roast and bleed pink into the crumb; black olives go in whole, pits and all. Oregano and coarse salt finish the top. Tear off a piece warm — the bottom should crackle, the inside stay open and damp.
Two technical points: the dough is wetter than pizza (~80% hydration) and includes boiled mashed potato, which holds moisture and keeps the crumb tender for a day. Second, the tomatoes must be salted and pressed in raw — pre-cooking releases water that floods the dough. Olive oil isn't a finish; it goes in the pan first and gets baked into the bottom crust, frying it from below.
Variations
Bari classic with cherry tomato, olives, oregano; Altamura uses durum semolina even harder and skips the potato; Foggia adds onion; Panificio Fiore (Bari, oven dating to 1912, run by the Fiore family since 1930) is the benchmark; the Salento variant called puccia is closer to a dimpled flatbread sandwich.
- ·Apulian: dough enriched with mashed boiled potato; topped with cherry tomatoes, olives, oregano.
- ·Heavier, more bread-like than Ligurian focaccia; deep golden bottom from generous olive oil.
On the Palate
Where Focaccia Barese sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Get the dough wet (~80% hydration) with boiled mashed potato worked in, and press the raw tomatoes dry with salt before topping — a slack potato dough stays tender for a day, and un-pressed tomatoes flood the crumb and leave it gummy.
Ingredients
How it's made
5 steps · 3 hours
- 114 min
Mix wheat flour, semolina, mashed potato, yeast, olive oil, and salt to form a dough.
Watch outThe dough should be tacky and cling to your fingers — if it's smooth and firm, add water.
- 222 min
Let the dough rise until doubled in size.
- 322 min
Spread the dough in a baking pan, topping with cherry tomatoes and olives.
Watch outPress tomatoes into the surface until they sit half-sunk — snug in the dough, not perched on top.
- 49 min
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano.
- 5112 min
Bake until golden and crispy.
Watch outPull it when the top is golden and the edges pull away crisp from the oiled pan.
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