Make Focaccia
Focaccia is a simple bread to make at home. It will take some time (about 3 hours), but much of the time it takes is waiting for it to rise, so you can do something else in between. There is nothing like freshly baked bread, and focaccia is some of the easiest bread you can bake from scratch.
This recipe is easy to extend. You can double it for a crowd. You can also add any other flavorings you want, including different herbs, different cheeses, garlic, and Make Dried Tomatoes or tomato paste. The basic procedures are about the same, no matter what flavorings you add.
Contents
Ingredients
- 1 packet active, dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons of bulk yeast or equivalent (read the package if buying bulk yeast).
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup warm water (130 to 140F or 55 to 60C)
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups unbleached or bread flour (see tips), divided
- 2-3 Tablespoons fresh rosemary or 1 Tablespoon dried rosemary, finely chopped.
- 4 Tablespoons Choose-Olive-Oil, divided
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Steps
- Prepare a clean surface on which to handle the dough. This can be a bread board or a wooden table, but make sure to wash the surface thoroughly, since it will be in direct contact with the dough. If you will use a table that gets used for other purposes, wipe it with dish soap and then wipe again to rinse, as you would a dish.
- Now is a good time to tie up long hair and wash your hands, too.
- Run some warm water into a stoneware bowl. Real yeast is not difficult to handle, but it will help if you keep it warm. A good rule of thumb with yeast is that it will like the temperatures you would like in a warm bath. Some warm water from the tap will preheat the bowl nicely, and stoneware, if you have it, will help to hold that heat.
- Chop finely the rosemary and any other herbs you wish to add to the dough.
- Pour the warm water out of the bowl and dry the bowl with a clean dish towel.
- Mix one cup of the flour with the rest of the dry ingredients, including the yeast and rosemary, in the bowl, but reserve about half of the flour.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the oil, then add the warm water.
- Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Mix until you have a smooth, batter-like consistency. You can also do some of the mixing and kneading with an electric mixer, if you have a dough hook.
- Gradually add the rest of the flour, continuing to stir.
- Begin to use your hands to mix the dough as it becomes too thick or sticky to work with a spoon.
- Turn out the dough onto a clean, floured surface when it behaves more like dough than like batter.
- Knead the dough by hand for about ten minutes, working in any remaining flour.
- If in doubt, knead longer than you think you need to. It is difficult to over-knead by hand.
- Sprinkle flour on top of the dough as needed to keep your fingers from sticking.
- Kneaded dough should be springy and smooth when it is ready. See if it bounces back when you poke a finger into it. Also try the "earlobe test". Pinch an earlobe-sized piece of dough and see if it feels about like an earlobe.
- Shape the kneaded dough into a round ball.
- Pour a little olive oil into the bowl.
- Roll the dough around in the bowl to coat the surface. Turn the ball of dough over and roll it to coat the other side.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap (better) or a damp towel (traditional) to keep the moisture in during the rise.
- Leave the dough to rise in a warm (but not hot) place for about 30 minutes or until it has doubled in bulk.
- The dough is ready when you can push a finger or two into it and not have it spring back.
- The dough is ready when you can push a finger or two into it and not have it spring back.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface.
- Punch down the dough all over. This is exactly what it sounds like. Give the dough a good, hard punch, right in the middle. It should deflate like a popped balloon.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces.
- Roll, press, and pull each piece into a flat sheet that will fit on your pizza pan or cookie tray. Something roughly round or rectangular is fine. It need not take up the whole sheet. It should be about half an inch (1-1.5 cm) thick and a fairly uniform thickness. Repeat for the other half of the dough.
- Grease or oil two pizza pans or cookie trays and place the dough on them.
- Cover both sheets or pans with plastic wrap (it will help to oil the plastic wrap or add a bit of cooking spray) and rise for another 20-30 minutes. The dough should puff up.
- Preheat the oven to 400F (200C, gas mark 6 ).
- Remove the plastic wrap. Push your fingers into the dough to make little dents around on the surface.
- Drizzle olive oil on the surface of the dough. Use a pastry brush to spread it evenly across the surface.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and any other additions you'd like.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cut into squares 3-4 inch squares or strips. A pizza cutter will help.
- Serve warm or cool, but serve fresh as soon as possible. A bowl or basket lined with a clean dish towel or napkin makes a good presentation.
Tips
- The purpose of kneading dough is to develop the gluten. For yeast breads, such as focaccia, this is desirable. For quick breads, such as banana bread, it is not desirable at all.
- Focaccia will work fine with bread flour, unbleached flour, or all-purpose flour. Do not use pastry or cake flour, and do not use self-rising flour.
- The name "focaccia" comes from the Roman phrase "panis focacius" which means a loaf of bread cooked on a hearth (in Latin "focus").
- The amount of flour can be adjusted by feel if you know what you're feeling for. The dough should be just dry enough not to stick to the surface while you knead it. You can add flour a little at a time on the surface and let the dough pick it up as you knead until it doesn't seem to need additional flour.
- You can use a Bake Bread Using a Bread Machine on the dough cycle for the first part of this recipe. Consult your manual and change the proportions if you need to.
- You can substitute whole wheat flour for up to about half of the flour in this recipe. It will change the character. With whole wheat flour, you may have to do more kneading, and it is more important to use bread flour specifically. If you are new to bread making, it will probably be easiest not to use whole wheat the first time.
- The plastic wrap helps keep the dough from drying out during the rise.
Warnings
- Use appropriate caution with ovens and knives.
- Don't bake the plastic wrap or any towels used to keep the dough moist during rising.
Things You'll Need
- A mixing bowl, ideally stoneware.
- A wooden spoon
- A bread board, cutting board, or clean wooden table surface
- A cookie sheet or pizza pan
- Plastic wrap or moist towels
- Someplace warm for the dough to rise undisturbed: a sunny window, an oven with a pilot light, proof cycle, or even inside a warm car in the sun.
- Dough scraper or spatula (optional, but handy)
- Pastry brush (helpful for spreading olive oil).
- Pizza cutter or sharp knife.
- Apron
- Sponge or dishcloth for cleanup
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