Monthly Archives: April 2020

Focaccia Bread via handletheheat

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Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 2 cups lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 5 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves, chopped and divided
  • 5 1/4 cups (670 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus coarse sea salt for sprinkling
  • 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

For the brine:

  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/3 cup lukewarm water

Directions

  1. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Add in 2 teaspoons of the chopped rosemary, half the flour, and the salt, stirring to combine. Add 1/2 cup olive oil. Gradually add in the remaining flour until a shaggy mass forms. Only add in as much flour as you need to create a shaggy slightly sticky dough.
  2. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment at room temperature for about 8 to 10 hours, or until doubled in size. At this point you can refrigerate the dough for several days until ready to bake. This will also develop more flavor.
  3. Coat a rimmed half sheet pan with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. Turn the dough onto the pan and begin pressing it out with your fingertips to fit the size of the pan. Coax and stretch the dough to fit the entire pan, or just about. If the dough springs back, cover and let it rest for 10 minutes before proceeding. Spread your fingers to make little dimples all the way through the dough. 

Make the brine:

  1. Combine the warm water and salt together until the salt is dissolved. Pour all over the dough to make little pools of water in the dimples. Cover loosely with plastic and allow to rise again until the dough is puffy, about 45 minutes.

Bake the bread:

  1. Meanwhile, place a baking stone in the oven and preheat to 450°F. If you don’t have a baking stone, invert a heavy duty rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven to preheat.
  2. Sprinkle the dough liberally with coarse sea salt and the remaining rosemary leaves. Bake with the sheet pan on top of stone until the focaccia is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Easy Focaccia Bread

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INGREDIENTS

  •  3 cups all-purpose flour
  •  1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid rise or fast acting yeast — NOT active dry yeast
  •  1 tablespoon sugar
  •  1 teaspoon salt
  •  1 2/3 cups very warm water — between 120°-130°F
  •  4 tablespoons olive oil — divided
  •  1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  •  1/2 teaspoon salt
  •  1/2 teaspoon pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Grease a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or oil.
  2. Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the water, then add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until well mixed. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  4. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke multiple holes into the dough. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over dough. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover again and let rise additional 15 minutes. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned.
  5. Cool slightly and slice into pieces.

Ligurian Focaccia via Samin Nosrat

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INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

  • 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons honey
  • 5 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan and finishing
  • Flaky salt, for finishing

For the brine:

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup lukewarm water

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a medium bowl, stir together water, yeast, and honey to dissolve. In a very large bowl, whisk flour and salt together to combine and then add yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir with a rubber spatula until just incorporated, then scrape the sides of the bowl clean and cover with plastic wrap. Leave out at room temperature to ferment for 12 to 14 hours until at least doubled in volume.
  2. Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons oil evenly onto a 18-by-13 inch rimmed baking sheet. When dough is ready, use a spatula or your hand to release it from the sides of the bowl and fold it onto itself gently, then pour out onto pan. Pour an additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil over dough and gently spread across. Gently stretch the dough to the edge of the sheet by placing your hands underneath and pulling outward.  The dough will shrink a bit, so repeat stretching once or twice over the course of 30 minutes to ensure dough remains stretched.
  3. Dimple the dough by pressing the pads of your first three fingers in at an angle.  Make the brine by stirring together salt and water until salt is dissolved. Pour the brine over the dough to fill dimples. Set the focaccia aside to rise for 45 minutes until the dough is light and bubbly.
  4. Thirty minutes into this final proof, adjust rack to center position and a second rack to the upper position. Preheat oven to 450°F. If you have a baking stone, place it on the center rack. Otherwise, invert another sturdy baking sheet and place on that rack. Allow to preheat with the oven until very hot, before proceeding with baking.
  5. Sprinkle focaccia with flaky salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes directly on top of stone or inverted baking sheet until bottom crust is crisp and golden brown when checked with a metal spatula. To finish browning top crust, move focaccia to upper rack and bake for 5 to 7 minutes more.
  6. Remove from oven and brush or douse with 2 to 3 tablespoons oil over the whole surface (don’t worry if the olive pools in pockets, it will absorb as it sits). Let cool for 5 minutes, then release focaccia from pan with metal spatula and transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.  

RECIPE NOTES

Storage: To store, wrap in parchment and then keep in an airtight bag or container to preserve texture. Gently toast or reheat any leftover focaccia before serving. Alternatively, wrap tightly to freeze, then defrost and reheat before serving.