Focaccia di Recco

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, both amounts of cold water, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 3/4 teaspoon of fine salt. Mix with the dough hook on low speed until the dough forms a smooth, elastic ball (5-6 minutes). It should be soft, elastic, and slightly tacky, but not sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to a blazing 500°F (260°C) and position a rack in the center. Lightly grease the quarter-sheet baking pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and dust it evenly with cornmeal.

Divide the rested dough into four equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, gently pat each piece into a rough rectangle. Roll one piece of dough out to approximately 3/8 inch thick, maintaining a rectangular shape of about 6x8 inches. With well-floured hands, carefully pick up the dough and gently stretch it, rotating as you go, until it's almost large enough to cover the prepared sheet pan. Pull and stretch the dough so that it slightly overlaps the edges of the pan by about 1/2 inch. Secure the edges to the pan; the dough will be thin and almost translucent.

Evenly distribute about 6 tablespoons of crescenza-stracchino cheese over the stretched dough, creating dollops of creamy goodness. Roll out another piece of dough as before, stretching it to fit over the first dough sheet and the cheese. Stretch, pull, and seal the dough to completely enclose the cheese between the two layers.

Using a rolling pin, carefully roll over the edges of the dough to simultaneously seal the edges of the flatbread and trim off any excess dough. Roll the trimmed edges away from the pan so that the flatbread neatly falls into the prepared pan. Gently press the edges of the flatbread to ensure a secure seal. Discard the trimmed dough scraps.

With your thumb and forefinger, gently pinch a small piece of the top layer of dough and tear a small hole. Repeat this 2 or 3 more times to create a few vents in the top layer. This helps prevent the flatbread from puffing up too much during baking.

Drizzle the flatbread generously with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt.

Bake in the preheated oven until the flatbread is beautifully browned and blistered, the bread has puffed up, and the top is wonderfully crisp (6-7 minutes). Repeat steps to make a second flatbread using the second half of the dough. Drizzle the second flatbread with the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt. Bake the second bread as before.

Once baked, cut each flatbread into quarters and serve immediately while still warm.