Fugazzeta is a double fugazza that is widely consumed as street food in Argentina. And a fugazza is another variation on the Italian focaccia.
While focaccia focuses on the bread with little extra flavorings, fugazza is richly topped with onion, cheese, and fresh herbs. With fugazetta, you can go crazy and fill it with cheese.
We saw fugazetta in an episode of Street Food: Latin America on Netflix. That looked so great that we definitely wanted to make it. After a few different variations, this has become our version.
We make a kind of pizza dough for the fugazetta. This amount is for a skillet of 30 cm (12 inches). If you have a smaller or larger skillet, you can adjust the amount.
In the absence of a good food processor, we mix the dough by hand using a sturdy wooden spoon. It is a matter of stirring until the dough sticks around the spoon. If you notice that the dough is sticking to the bowl, add a little more flour.
The dough is ready when it has become nice and smooth and sticks to your spoon like a ball. This dough is slightly wetter than our standard pizza dough, making it difficult to process at times. So you have to work quickly because it really sticks to everything.
You rub your hands with a little olive oil and quickly turn a ball of the dough. Place the ball in a large bowl and leave it at room temperature for 2 hours. After 2 hours, the ball has grown twice as large, and you can continue with the recipe. Meanwhile, we let the skillet come to room temperature.
Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and make 2 balls. You put 1 of the balls in a greased skillet, and the other put on some baking paper. Let the dough relax for an hour while you prepare all the ingredients.
We use mozzarella for the filling. And then we take the pre-grated version. This is less fat, so you don’t get a soggy bottom. In the meantime, you also heat up the barbecue. We use the Kamado Joe Classic. We aim for a kettle temperature of approximately 250°C (480F). We do this because the fugazetta is very thick and otherwise will not be cooked through and through. We also peeled the onion very thinly, and we don’t want it burnt.
In the meantime, the balls of dough have become more flexible. Gently press the ball in the skillet with your fingers to all edges of the pan. Try not to apply too much pressure to keep the dough fluffy. You do the same with the dough on the baking paper, so it becomes the same size as the dough in the skillet.
Spread a generous amount of mozzarella and ham on the dough. Try to keep the edges clear because you want the 2 layers to stick to each other there. You put the next layer of dough over the cheese, and then you slightly press the edges.
Then we top the whole with a lot of onion and Parmesan cheese. The onion is sliced wafer thin with a mandolin. We do grate the Parmesan cheese ourselves. Parmesan itself is not very fat and simply tastes better if you grate it yourself.
We made the previous fugazetta too much as a Foccacia. Not too many toppings. This time we go all-in. We used fresh thyme, freshly ground black pepper, and a fair amount of chili flakes. In terms of taste, it really needs to get much better.
This is the setup we are using for this fugazetta. First, we place the plate setter with a few steel corner parts on top. On top of that goes the pizza stone. This way, you create a convection oven without the bottom of the skillet being overheated.
When we placed the cold skillet, we noticed that the temperature in the kettle dropped quickly. We solved this by opening the top vent completely.
This is the result after about 20 minutes. Golden brown fugazetta with deliciously caramelized onions and cheese. Take the skillet out of the barbecue and let it rest.
You can serve this fugazetta to your guests with confidence. Take a step back and watch everyone enjoy.
Ingredients
For the dough in a 30 cm skillet
- 540 grams all-purpose flour
- 10 grams of salt
- 10 grams of sugar
- 7 grams of dry yeast (or 21 grams of fresh)
- 350 grams of lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
For the topping
- 200 grams of grated mozzarella
- 100 grams of ham strips
- 100 grams of Parmesan cheese
- 1 whole white onion
- fresh thyme
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
olive oil
Instructions
- Mix everything for the dough and knead everything well with a food processor or by hand. The dough should be smooth and just dry enough so that it no longer sticks to the bowl. Cover and let this dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, when the bulb has become twice as big, divide the bulb into 2 equal parts and turn them into bulbs again. Grease the skillet with a little olive oil and place 1 ball in it. You put the other on a piece of kitchen paper.
- Let the bulbs relax for an hour to make it easier to make a pizza base.
- Prepare a barbecue with an indirect temperature of about 250°C (480F).
- When the balls are flexible, gently press the ball into the shape of the skillet and make the other bottom the same size.
- Cover the pizza base in the skillet with the mozzarella and the ham strips. Keep the edges clear. Place the other pizza base on top of that. Cover this with the onion, grated parmesan cheese, fresh thyme, black pepper, and chili flakes. Pour a little olive oil over everything and put the whole pan in the barbecue. Close the lid.
- After about 20 minutes, the fugazetta will be golden brown. Let it cool slightly before removing it from the skillet.