Focaccia Bari is a preparation with a very soft dough made with flour, semolina, salt, yeast and water, seasoned with oil, tomatoes, olives and traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven. It is widespread especially in the provinces of Bari, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Taranto where it is usually found in bakeries. It was born in Altamura, as a variant of the traditional durum wheat bread, probably from the need to exploit the initial strong heat of the wood-burning oven, before it stabilizes on the ideal temperature to bake the bread. Before baking the loaves, a piece of raw bread dough was rolled out on a baking tray, left to rest a little, then seasoned and finally baked.
