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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.

Italian Herb Parmesan Quick Bread

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Prep: 5 min Bake: 1 hr Total: 1 hr 5 min Servings: 16 slices Calories: 125 kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons dehydrated onion
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese plus 1 tablespoon for topping
  • 2 cups milk OR buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar OMIT IF USING BUTTERMILK

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. To make the buttermilk add the milk and vinegar to a medium size bowl and stir.
  3. If using store bought buttermilk, omit the above step.
  4. Place all of the dry ingredients (except for the cheese to top the bread) into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
  5. Pour in the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it’s a thick, lumpy and pasty consistency.
  6. Spoon the batter evenly into a loaf pan that has been liberally sprayed with cooking spray.
  7. Top the batter with the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated oven for approximately 60 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
  8. Allow the loaf to cool for 5 minutes and then turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Homemade Artisan Bread

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  • Prep Time: 4 hrs Cook Time: 25 min Total Time: 4 hrs, 25 min Yield: 2 8-inch loaves

via sallysbakingaddiction

Ingredients

  • 3 and 1/4 cups (410g) bread flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands and pan
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) cool water
  • optional: cornmeal for dusting pan

Instructions

  1. In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together. Pour in the cool water and gently mix together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The dough will seem dry and shaggy, but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands (as I do in the video tutorial above) to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can.
  2. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and set on the counter at room temperature (honestly any normal room temperature is fine!). Allow to rise for 2-3 hours. The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.
  3. You can continue with step 4 immediately, but for absolute best flavor and texture, I strongly recommend letting this risen dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. Place covered dough in the refrigerator for 12 hours – 3 days. I usually let it rest in the refrigerator for about 18 hours. The dough will puff up during this time, but may begin to deflate after 2 days. That’s fine and normal– nothing to worry about.
  4. Lightly dust a large baking sheet (with or without rims) with flour and/or cornmeal. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut dough in half. Some air bubbles will deflate as you work with it. Place dough halves on prepared baking sheet. Using floured hands, shape into 2 long loaves about 9×3 inches each (doesn’t have to be exact) about 3 inches apart. Loosely cover and allow to rest for 45 minutes. You will bake the dough on this prepared baking sheet. See recipe note if you want to use a pizza stone.
  5. During this 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C).
  6. When ready to bake, using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the bread loaves with 3 slashes, about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.)
  7. Optional for a slightly crispier crust: After the oven is preheated and bread is scored, place a shallow metal or cast iron baking pan or skillet (I usually use a metal 9×13 baking pan) on the bottom oven rack. Carefully and quickly pour 3-4 cups of boiling water into it. Place the scored dough/baking pan on a higher rack and quickly shut the oven, trapping the steam inside. The steam helps create a crispier crust.
  8. Place the shaped and scored dough (on the flour/cornmeal dusted pan) in the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Gently tap the loaves– if they sound hollow, the bread is done.
  9. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Notes

  1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can sit in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so this is a wonderful recipe to begin ahead of time. You can also bake the bread, allow it to cool, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. You can also freeze the dough. Complete the recipe through step 3. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container. To bake, allow dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or for 2-3 hours at room temperature. Continue with step 4 and the rest of the recipe instructions.
  2. Flour: For absolute best flavor and chewy texture, I strongly recommend using bread flour. You can use a 1:1 substitution of all-purpose flour in a pinch with no other changes to the recipe. I recommend avoiding whole wheat flour in this dough. If necessary, use half bread flour and half whole wheat flour. The bread will taste a bit dense.
  3. Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast, but I highly recommend an instant (aka “rapid rise” or “quick rise” yeast. The bread will rise faster. I usually use Platinum yeast by Red Star, which is an instant yeast. 2 teaspoons is a little less than 1 standard packet. If using active dry yeast, there are no changes needed to the recipe. The rise time in step 2 may take longer.
  4. Salt: Use a coarse salt, such as coarse sea salt, in this bread. I find the flavor slightly lacking when using regular table salt.
  5. Water: Use cool water. No need to measure its temperature. As long as it’s not super cold, warm, or very hot, it’s fine.
  6. Round Loaf: If you want to shape the dough into a boule (round loaf) simply shape into a round ball instead of 2 loaves in step 4. Baking instructions are the same, but the loaf will take a few extra minutes in the oven. If you want to bake the boule in a dutch oven, see next note.
  7. Using a Dutch Oven: Follow this dough recipe through step 3, then follow the simple shaping/baking instructions (steps 2-5) in my Cranberry Nut No Knead Bread recipe.
  8. Using a pizza stone: If you want to bake your bread loaves on a pizza stone, place pizza stone in the preheating oven. Transfer shaped and scored loaves to hot pizza stone and bake as directed.
  9. Flavor ideas: Before pouring in the water in step 1, add any of the following ingredients/combination of ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl: 4 cloves minced garlic + 3 Tablespoons chopped rosemary, 3 Tablespoons your favorite fresh herb (chopped), 1 cup your favorite shredded cheese, a diced jalapeño, 3/4 – 1 cup dried cranberries and/or chopped nuts, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, etc.
  10. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
  11. Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour & Red Star Yeast, similar method originally from Jim Lahey.