Easy Rosemary Focaccia
I love bread. I could never do the Atkins diet, I would be miserable without my carbs. My husband is the same way. Bless his heart he did the low carb thing for 2 months before our wedding, yep he lost weight but he was one cranky bastard. I have never seen him so happy as I did when we were leaving to drive to Virginia for the wedding and we stopped and had french fries and chicken fingers for dinner.
I wish I could remember what possessed me to try and bake bread. My Mom baked a lot but I never remember her making yeast breads form scratch. I guess I have that “try anything once” mentality. I think I was in college when I try to make baguettes, they must have turned out ok, cause I have been addicted to baking bread ever since.
I have been making this recipe for a while now, it is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook and yet is must not be all that new because it has been discontinued (was published in 2001) You can still find it online, used probably but I love it anyways. This is a pretty fail proof focaccia recipe, without reading the directions (what! me not follow directions!) I dumped all of the olive oil in at once not realizing over half was to be saved for the topping. Nonetheless it turned out great. It rises well, is soft on the inside and has a perfect crunchy crust. I love putting kosher salt on top. It makes great sandwiches and paninis, just slice horizontally and stuff with your favorite goodies, I like mine simple with mozzarella and tomatoes.
Rosemary Focaccia
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 -115 degrees)(or run the hot water and just when it is too hot to keep your fingers there, that’s about right)
1 pack of active dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 teaspoon of sugar
5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt (I prefer kosher)
3 1/2 cups bread flour of 3 3/4 cups of all purpose
1 teaspoon of kosher salt for topping
about 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped rosemary
1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, 1/2 cup of warm water and sugar. Allow the yeast to begin to foam a bit. If after about 5 mins there is no foam you may have killed the yeast or the yeast was old, throw it out and start again. Once you see foam add the remaining 1 cup of warm water, 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and flour. I like to out in about half the flour and mix it to make it smooth then add the rest.
2. Flour your counter and your hands. Turn out the dough and begin to knead. Add a little flour as needed to keep it from sticking too bad to your counter. This is a soft dough so don’t add too much. I prefer to be gentle with this dough unlike some others that I can take my aggression out on. At this point I added in about a heaping tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary. You can also save it for the topping but I love how the scent and flavor of rosemary permeated the bread.
3. Shape dough in a ball and put in greased bowl (I just spray Pam in my bowl). I like to cover my bowl with a towel that has been rinsed with hot water and squeezed out. I like to think it helps the rising process, so far it has worked for me. Put in a warm place, my favorite is in the laundry area while drying clothes (just remember to cover the dough!) or by a window. Leave for about an hour until it has doubled in size.
4. Lightly oil (or Pam) a jelly roll pan or baking sheet with edges. Punch the dough down (literally… just punch it down) and turn it out onto the pan. Pat is into the pan, no need to make it perfect it will fill out the pan more with rising. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap for about 45 minutes. With your fingertips, make deep indentations, about 1 inch apart over the entire surface. This allows room for the oil and toppings to stick to. Drizzle with remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and kosher salt. You can also add more herbs at this step. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 mins. (I know it’s a lot but it is so worth it!)
5. Preheat over to 450 degrees. Bake focaccia on lowest rack until bottom is crusty and top is lightly browned, about 18 mins.
6. Transfer to wire rack to cool. I can barely get this bread out of the pan before Evan has devoured half of it.
I really need to make it more often, it is such an easy and versatile bread that is a great canvas for so many extra flavorings.
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