I heard everyone is making sourdough! Well, I’m making focaccia instead. This bread is one of the easiest breads to make, but it does require some time. 4 1/2 hours total, but only about 1/2 hour of active hands on time. So, gather your ingredients, and let’s get baking!
The dough for this bread is quite sticky. When mixing, it should clear the sides of the bowl, but not the bottom. You may need to adjust the consistency by adding more flour or water. The day I made this loaf, it was so humid, I ended up adding an extra half cup of flour.
After mixing, the next step requires one 5 minute rest and three 30 minute rests. Coat a countertop and your hands with olive oil and stretch the dough into a large rectangle. Rest for 5 minutes, then take each side of the dough and pull, kind of like pulling taffy. Fold one end toward the center, then fold the other on top, like folding a letter. Press the dough into a rectangle, cover, and rest for 30 minutes. Repeat this process twice more. While resting the dough, make the garlic rosemary oil.
After the last rest, place the dough on a lined and sprayed sheet pan. Pour garlic-rosemary oil on the dough, using your hands to disperse the oil evenly over the top. Begin to press your fingertips into the dough, flattening, and dimpling.
I try to press the dough into an even thickness, so it will cook more evenly. The dough does not have to reach the edges of the pan, it will continue to expand as it proofs and bakes.
After shaping and dimpling, the dough needs to be covered and proofed for two more hours. An hour and a half into the proofing begin preheating the oven. Right before the bread goes into the oven sprinkle the top with sea salt. Bake the loaf rotating halfway through.
Bread will need to be rested 10-15 minutes before cutting. Serve this focaccia with some balsamic and olive oil or for other uses check out the rest of this week’s posts!
Rosemary Garlic Focaccia
Ingredients
Garlic Rosemary oil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
Focaccia
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 cups warm water 100-110 degrees
- 5 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sea salt for topping
Instructions
garlic rosemary oil
- Chop rosemary and garlic and add to oil
focaccia
- Put water into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Sprinkle yeast into the warm water and let set for 10 minutes.
- Add flour, salt and oil to the yeast mixture and mix on low until flour is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3-5 minutes. Add extra four or water if needed.
- Once mixed, lightly oil a surface and pat out the dough into a large rectangle. Rest for 5 minutes. After resting, pull the dough from each side (like taffy pulling) and fold in like an envelope. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Repeat this process 2 more times.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment and spray. Place the dough on the sheet pan and cover with rosemary oil. Begin pressing the dough with your fingertips, shaping it toward the edges of the pan, creating little dimples. Dough does not have to fill the pan, it will expand when proofing and cooking. Cover the dough and proof for two hours
- Preheat an oven to 500 degrees. Sprinkle the sea salt on the dough and place in the oven. Turn the oven down to 450 degrees and cook for 10-15 minutes. Turn the pan and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Cool before slicing.
