Focaccia aux farci

Being portuguese I rather appreciate cured meats and cured sausages, like chouriço, black pudding, pudding (farinheira), alheira, you name it. One can find versions of these types of cured meats and sausages all over the world, but to be plainly honest, the portuguese enchidos are the best, no matter how far you travel, nor how many others you try, this, like wine and olive oil, is something portuguese do better. And that's that. But because I like to see myself as a woman of the world - even though I rarely travel anywhere outside my country - and being a freak for italian food, it comes as obvious that we should try to mix Italy with Portugal, in this household. It came in the form of a bread, of course. It's an easy recipe, having as basis for the bread a simple pizza dough recipe, and it comes out of the oven looking and tasting a bit like a strange focaccia.

You need 700gr of flour, 20gr baker's yeast, 400ml tepid water, 4 tbs of olive oil, 2 ts salt and a mix of aromatic herbs, like oregano, rosemary, thyme, and a mix of enchidos, like chouriço, black pudding, pudding, alheira, cured ham, bacon - it's really up to your taste! Start by turning your oven on at 180º, then place the flour inside a deep bowl, make a hole at the bottom of the flour and drop the salt there, with the olive oil and the aromatics. On the sides of that hole you place the yeast, avoiding it's contact with the salt - or this will kill the active ingredients in the yeast. Add the water to the hole, and with a fork, slowly start mixing the ingredients together, until the dough reaches a consistency that allows you to knead it by hand. Drop this dough onto a surface that has been lighly covered with flour and knead the dough. By the time you find it has become silky and elastic to touch, it's ready to go back to the bowl, be covered with a cloth and left to leaven for about three hours, one hour at least. In the meantime, chop all of the enchidos in chunks or slices, as you prefer. Get a baking tray and line it with parchment paper. Place half the dough inside it and cover it with the chopped enchidos. Get the rest of the dough on top of the enchidos layer, sprinkle some aromatics over this and bake in the oven at 220º for about 20m to 30m. Once it's ready, allow to cool on a rack for at least 10m and serve with a simple salad. It's a great recipe for entertaining evenings, or to take with you on a picnic. Enjoy!