Rosemary Focaccia

As the new year starts, I begin the travail of kicking my nicotine addiction. As done prior, I’ll be doing a bit of baking. As such I’ll start with a basic rosemary focaccia..

From wikipeida:

Focaccia  is a flat oven-baked Italian bread product[ similar in style and texture to pizza doughs. Focaccia can be used as a side to many meals or as sandwich bread. Focaccia al rosmarino (focaccia with rosemary) is a common focaccia style in Italian cuisine that may be served as an antipasto, appetizer, table bread, or snack.

I’ll set this recipe for a 1/2 sheet pan (18″x 13″) , pretty much the standard to fit a kitchen oven. It is also a good basic recipe for bread sticks or “cheesy bread”

Rosemary Focaccia

This focaccia has a moist but airy crumb sandwiched between thin but ultra-crunchy top and bottom crusts, thanks to a generous amount of olive oil in the pan and on top of the dough. Rosemary and Thyme are used to flavor the oil prior to cooking.
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 5 hours
Servings 8 Servings

Ingredients
  

Flavored Oil

  • 2 tbsp Fresh Rosemary Washed, Picked, Chopped
  • 2 tbsp Fresh Thyme Washed, Picked
  • 1/2 Cup olive oil

Dough - Hydrate

  • 450 gram Bread Flour
  • 350 gram AP Flour
  • 100 gram Whole Wheat Flour
  • 40 gram Salt
  • 625 ml Water Warm

Yeast - Bloom

  • 10 gram sugar
  • 40 gram Active Dry Yeast
  • 125 ml Water Warm

Instructions
 

Flavored Oil

  • Wash and chop herbs Add oil Mash with fork Rest for 1 hour

Dough-Hydrate

  • In a stand mixer add Flours and water Mix to a shaggy dough Cover and Rest one hour

Yeast - Bloom

  • Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast Rest 1 hour

Assembly

  • Add Yeast-Bloom to Dough-Hydrate, add salt, and kneed to a silky smooth texture Cover and rest one hour, or until doubled in size
  • Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to bottom of 1/2 sheet pan and spread
  • Fold dough into pan and spread; let rest 10 minutes and then stretch to fit pan
  • Place sheet pan in oven and add a pan of hot water. Allow to rise for 1 hour

Baking

  • Remove pan, water pan and dough from oven and heat oven to 450
  • Drizzle with flavored oil; Oil hands again and press fingertips firmly into dough, pushing down all the way to bottom of pan to dimple all over. Sprinkle generously with sea salt
  • Bake until deep golden brown. (25-35 Minutes) Cool in pan 5-10 minutes

Notes

I've used a mix of flours for taste and texture, (one could just use all strong flour), Bread Flour for gluten development, ap flour for lightness, and whole wheat for a taste kick.
I'll also add roasted garlic to my flavored oil, and may chop some oil cured kalamata olives as a topping.
One may also dust heavily with ground Parmesan cheese prior to baking for that cheesy bread taste and texture.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

  Filed under: Baked, Basics, Bread, Vegan, Vegetarian

Comments are closed for this post.