Cheese-Topped Focaccia

Start by placing the flour into a large mixing bowl of your stand mixer; add both amounts of water, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Combine the ingredients using your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed until it forms a cohesive ball, taking about 5 to 6 minutes. The dough should be soft and elastic but not sticky.

Transfer the dough out onto a clean work surface and shape it into a ball. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest on your counter at room temperature for 1 hour.

Lightly grease the quarter-sheet baking pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil; sprinkle it with cornmeal. Prepare your work surface by lightly dusting it with flour.

Move the oven rack to its center position. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

Unwrap the dough and divide it into quarters. On a floured work surface, roll out each quarter to about 3/8 inch thick while maintaining its original shape. Gently stretch the dough, rotating as you go, until it's almost large enough to fit over the prepared sheet pan. Stretch and pull the dough so that it overlaps the edge of the pan by about 1/2 inch, securing it to the sheet pan edges; the dough will be thin and membrane-like.

Place about 6 tablespoons of crescenza-stracchino cheese onto the stretched dough, spreading it out evenly. Roll out another piece of dough as before, stretching to fit over the first dough sheet and cheese. Stretch, pull, and seal the dough as before so that the cheese is enclosed between the two sheets of dough.

Use a rolling pin to simultaneously seal the flatbread edges and cut off any overlapping edges. Roll the dough edges away from the pan, allowing the flatbread to fall into the prepared pan. Press the flatbread edges flat and roll them slightly if desired, ensuring they're fully sealed. Discard any rolled-off dough edges.

Pinch a small amount of the top dough between your thumb and forefinger, creating a small tear in the dough; repeat 2 or 3 more times to create several tears in the top layer.

Drizzle the flatbread lightly with 2 teaspoons of olive oil; sprinkle it with 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt.

Bake the flatbread in the preheated oven until it has many browned, blistered spots on top, and bread has inflated, taking about 6 to 7 minutes. Repeat the process using the second half of the dough as before, drizzling it with remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt. Bake the second flatbread as before. Cut both breads into quarters and serve warm.