Recco, Liguria. Ancient in origin — possibly pre-Roman. IGP status granted 2012, defining a production zone covering Recco and surrounding comuni.
Focaccia di Recco is not focaccia in the conventional sense. It is two paper-thin sheets of unleavened dough encasing crescenza or stracchino cheese, baked at extremely high heat until the cheese melts into a flowing interior and the surface blisters and browns. The dough contains no yeast — it is stretched by hand to near-transparency, the way you would stretch filo, and baked on an oiled tray at 300°C or as close to that as a domestic oven allows.
The blistered, cracker-thin dough carries salt and olive oil; the interior is a flowing pool of mild, milky, slightly acidic cheese. The contrast between crunch and molten interior is the entire point. The cheese should run when cut.
The dough is 00 flour, water, olive oil, and salt — no leavening. It must rest 30-40 minutes before stretching to allow the gluten to relax. Stretching is done with the back of the hands, exactly like phyllo or strudel, until the dough is translucent in places. Crescenza (a fresh, mild, spreadable cheese with 40-50% fat) is the correct cheese — it melts completely and flows. The cheese should be placed in irregular blobs on the lower sheet, not spread evenly. The upper sheet is laid over and sealed at the edges. Holes are pierced in the top sheet to let steam escape.
If you can't reach 300°C, place the tray on the highest oven shelf with the broiler/grill element running simultaneously. The dough is ready when it blisters brown in spots and the cheese is visibly melted and running. IGP status means Focaccia di Recco can only be made in a specific area around Recco — this confers legal protection but the technique is learnable. Eat immediately — it does not travel.
Using leavened dough — the texture becomes thick and bready, not cracker-thin. Using mozzarella instead of crescenza — wrong texture, pools of water, tough result. Baking at too low a temperature — the cheese becomes rubbery before the dough can crisp. Over-spreading the cheese — it runs out of the edges. Not oiling the pan generously — the bottom sticks.
Benedetta Parodi, Focacce; Slow Food Editore, Focaccia di Recco IGP