Can you smell it?? Fresh hot bread, right out of the oven!! Is there anything better? I think not. Well, let’s be honest here. There are many yummy things right out of the oven but today I made Focaccia and today it is the BEST thing out of the oven! I know it’s at its finest the first day but seriously making a panini sandwich the next day, who wouldn’t want that, right?!
I love the versatility of Focaccia, fresh vegetables on top and a sprinkling of sea salt. Wow! just wow! Filled with meat and cheese and smooshed in a panini press or toasted in a hot skillet with loads of butter melting into the crispy edges. Focaccia is even great as a base for pizza! The possibilities are as endless as the joys of tasting each and every combination, or just plain right out of the oven loaded with your toppings of choice!
I love the classic, fresh rosemary, red onions and tomatoes, the little sweet ones! But making the garden focaccia is amazing and soo flavorful!
You can tear up and dunk focaccia into a good olive oil and balsamic and use it as an appetizer.
Focaccia is essentially, a raised flatbread. It’s synonymous with Italian cuisine but you will find this delicacy throughout the Mediterranean countries and France as well. A nicely baked focaccia is made from a rather wet dough and after kneading and proving, it is left full of the air bubbles, that will create a light, spongey texture.
However, to stop the bread collapsing, it is important to reduce the air content. This is done by creating the dimples, that gives focaccia its unique character. Dimpling can be done with wet fingers. After the dimpling there can be some residual olive oil puddling in the dimples, no worries. As it is baking the rest of the oil gets absorbed and what is left gives it that shiny, crusty, crunchy texture that we love so much!
Once you have a basic recipe, get creative and add different toppings, fillings or make it a work of art that is almost too good to eat, like the garden focaccia where the peppers, onions and herbs create flower designs. Such a colorful bread and seriously, almost too pretty to eat!
Buon Appetito!
Ingredients & Preparation
The Usual Suspects:
Poolish
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (255 g) water (70°F/21°C)
- 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
Dough
- 1 1/4 cups (284 g) water (85°F/29°C)
- 4 1/2 teaspoons (14 g) instant yeast
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (56 g) olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) granulated sugar
- 5 teaspoons (15 g) kosher salt
Topping
- 3 Tablespoons (42 g) warm water (80°F/27°C)
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) olive oil
- 1/2 medium red onion (55 g), thinly sliced
- 1 dry pint (270 g) cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons (4 g) fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon (9 g) coarse kosher salt
The Plan:
For Poolish
In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (255g) water and yeast.
Add flour and stir together by hand until smooth and there are no dry bits of the flour remaining.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 14 to 16 hours.
For dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine poolish, 1 1/4 cups (284 g) water and yeast.
Add flour, oil, sugar and salt.
Beat at low speed until dough starts to pull away from sides of the bowl, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Test dough using the windowpane method. If dough is not ready, knead a couple more times, and test again.
Grease a large bowl with olive oil.
Place dough in bowl and rub a little olive oil on top of dough.
Cover surface of dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free place (75°F/24°C) for 1 hour.
Brush a rimmed 18X13-inch sheet pan with olive oil.
Turn out dough onto prepared pan and gently stretch to completely fill bottom of pan. If dough is tight and will not stretch completely, let dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then try again.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
Uncover dough and dimple using your fingertips. You want your fingertips to touch the bottom of the pan without tearing through the dough.
Cover and let rinse until the dough is level with the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
For topping
Sprinkle dough with 3 tablespoons (42g) warm water, drizzle with oil.
Add onions, tomatoes, rosemary and salt.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
Immediately transfer focaccia to a wire rack.
Enjoy hot out the oven! Focaccia is best served the day it is made but leftovers can be reheated in the oven the next day.
Focaccia
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- The Usual Suspects
- Poolish
- • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (255 g) water (70°F/21°C)
- • 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
- • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- Dough
- • 1 1/4 cups (284 g) water (85°F/29°C)
- • 4 1/2 teaspoons (14 g) instant yeast
- • 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
- • 1/4 cup (56 g) olive oil
- • 2 tablespoons (24 g) granulated sugar
- • 5 teaspoons (15 g) kosher salt
- Topping
- • 3 Tablespoons (42 g) warm water (80°F/27°C)
- • 2 tablespoons (28 g) olive oil
- • 1/2 medium red onion (55 g), thinly sliced
- • 1 dry pint (270 g) cherry tomatoes
- • 2 tablespoons (4 g) fresh rosemary leaves
- • 1 tablespoon (9 g) coarse kosher salt
Instructions
The Plan
For Poolish
In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (255g) water and yeast.
Add flour and stir together by hand until smooth and there are no dry bits of the flour remaining.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 14 to 16 hours.
For dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine polish, 1 1/4 cups (284 g) water and yeast.
Add flour, oil, sugar and salt.
Beat at low speed until dough starts to pull away from sides of the bowl, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Test dough using the windowpane method. If dough is not ready, knead a couple more times, and test again.
Grease a large bowl with olive oil.
Place dough in bowl and rub a little olive oil on top of dough.
Cover surface of dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free place (75°F/24°C) for 1 hour.
Brush a rimmed 18X13-inch sheet pan with olive oil.
Turn out dough onto prepared pan and gently stretch to completely fill bottom of pan. I dough is tight and will not stretch completely, let dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then try again.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
Uncover dough and dimple using your fingertips. You want your fingertips to touch the bottom of the pan without tearing through the dough.
Cover and let rinse until the dough is level with the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
For topping
Sprinkle dough with 3 tablespoons (42g) warm water, drizzle with oil.
Add onions, tomatoes, rosemary and salt.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
Immediately transfer focaccia to a wire rack.
Enjoy hot out the oven! Focaccia is best served the day it is made but leftovers can be reheated in the oven the next day.
