I have taken my easy no-knead focaccia recipe and added a shallot pissaladière topping which is so delicious. The shallots soften in olive oil, anchovies, garlic and thyme to form a delectable layer for the bread. This is a high-hydration focaccia bread that is a mix-and-leave situation. All the bubbles develop during an overnight rest in the fridge.
I have used shallots in this recipe vs onions as they are in their short season now in South Africa and have a mild and sweet flavour. I love using shallots in so many of my recipes as they are less aggressive than onions.
Pissaladière is the famous Provençal tart smothered with caramelized onions, anchovies, and olives, and is amongst my favourite things to eat of all time. Since traditionally it’s made on a bread base a pissaladière is more of a pizza.
Years ago I posted Franck Dangereaux’s recipe and this is what I loosely modelled this rendition on. Franck hails from the South of France where this dish originates so there is no better source for the recipe. The pictures are so bad and I have meant to update them for ages but the recipe is gold.
Many recipes only use whole anchovies on top of the onion, but Franck uses chopped anchovies in the onion/shallot mix as well as on top. Anchovies are the ultimate in deliciousness and you almost can’t have enough.
If you are an anchovy hater then this recipe is not for you. It’s a key component to this dish and I cannot imagine it without them. You can see my cheats pissaladière recipe where I topped a sliced baguette to capture the utter deliciousness in a quicker amount of time. I also made a rendition with which I subbed bokkums for anchovies which gives it a local twist.
Since this is one of my favourite things to eat, I plan to do a version with puff pastry or make mini tarts like my red wine caramelised onion tarts with goat cheese.
Ingredients for Focaccia pissaladière
Bread flour – Use any white bread flour you have to make this recipe
Yeast – Instant yeast is used as the raising agent in this recipe which does not require kneading.
Shallots – I have used in-season Dutoit Agri shallots here. They are the only local producer of shallots which are in season from February through May.
Anchovies – I have used anchovies in oil and you need a lot for this recipe.
Garlic & thyme – use fresh garlic and the leaves plucked off the thyme stalks.
Olives – use black calamata olives to stud the focaccia pissaladière
How to make no-knead focaccia shallot pissaladière
First, make the no-knead dough by mixing the dry ingredients and then adding the water.
Mix with a spatula, and cover with a little olive oil. Coat the dough, cover it, and set it in the fridge for 1 – 2 days.
The filling can be made in advance. Peel and slice the shallots. This is a time-consuming job so get some help if possible. A food processor makes slicing the shallots a lot quicker and easier. Add the olive oil to a large nonstick frying pan set over a gentle heat and cook them down.
About 10 minutes into the cooking time add the thyme and garlic and continue to cook the shallots over. allow heat for around 20 minutes. You will cook these for a total of around 20 – 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent any bits burning and you don’t want these onions to caramelise.
About 2 – 4 hours before you are going to bake the focaccia, take it out of the fridge and tip it into a greased and buttered baking dish. The butter prevents the bread from sticking. Stretch it gently into the corner but don’t worry about it fitting. Prove the dough for 2 – 4 hours until it has doubled in size and has become very soft and jiggly.
Oil your hands and then dimple the dough with your fingers. Gently spread the shallot mixture. over the surface of the douth then lay the anchovies across in a lattice pattern. Stud the dough with the calamata, grind over some black pepper and bake.
Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown for about 25 – 30 minutes. Take the bread out of the baking tray and cool on a rack until it’s cool and ready to slice.
Serve with a simple green salad and vinaigrette or with other dishes to make a more substantial feast.
Recipe – makes one large loaf
No-knead focaccia:
- 500 grams white bread flour 4 cups
- 8 grams instant yeast 2 tsp
- 1 ¾ tsp salt
- 500 ml lukewarm water 2 cups
- 1 tsp honey or brown sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 – 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + a few more for coating and drizzling on top
Pissaladiere shallot topping:
- 1 kg Dutoit Agri shallots peeled and thinly sliced
- 60 ml extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 20 anchovies in oil divided
- 18 calamata olives
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Make the focaccia the 1 – 2 days in advance.
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Mix the flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl with a whisk. In a measuring jug dissolve the one teaspoon of honey in the water. To get the perfect water temperature for this no-knead focaccia, use 1 1/2 cups of tap water with 1/2 cup of boiling water.
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Pour the water with the dissolved honey into the flour and mix with a spatula.
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Once all the flour is incorporated, drizzle the dough with about 1 ½ tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Rub this lightly all over the ball (flip to coat), then seal with cling film and store in the fridge overnight or for up to 2 days. If you want to make this on the same day, then simply leave the covered dough out until it has doubled in size (approx 2 – 3 hours) depending on how warm it is.
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Generously grease a 23cm x 33cm x 5 cm (9 x 13 x 2 inch) baking sheet with butter. This is to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan. Then spread 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
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The day you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge and gently pull it away from the sides of the bowl and tip it onto the baking sheet. Gently pull the dough into a rough rectangle. Don’t worry too much if it doesn’t fit at this point, it will naturally rise and expand into the corners. Leave in a warm spot for about 2 – 4 hours to rise *this time depends on how warm the room is.
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Preheat the oven to 220C / 425F.
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When the dough has fully risen and has bubbles on the surface (it should be soft and very jiggly), rub olive oil onto your fingers, and dimple the dough all over.
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Spread the cooled pissaladiere topping evenly over the surface of the dough.
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Drape approx. 12 – 16 anchovies across the dough to form a lattice pattern.
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Make indentations in the surface and place the olives.
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Bake immediately for 25 – 30 minutes until golden brown all over.
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Remove from the pan and cool on a cooling rack (this helps prevent the bottom from going too soft).
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Once cool, cut and drizzle more olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
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To make the pissaladiere topping:
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This can be made while the bread is proofing or the day before. Allow to cool before topping the focaccia.
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Heat a large non-stick skillet with olive oil and sate the sliced shallots until softened. About 10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and continue to cook for around 15 minutes until the shallots are a light golden colour. You do not want them to brown.
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Once they are fully softened and light brown in colour, finely chop 6 – 8 anchovies and then add them to the shallot mix. Stir this through until well combined then set the mixture aside to cool.
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Follow the steps above and top the bread when you are ready to bake it.
The No-knead focaccia is made the day before the bread is baked. The shallot pissaladiere topping can also be made in advance.
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