Monday, April 27, 2015

Focaccia... A Baker's Challenge

For the month of April Rachael of pizzarossa and Sawsan of Chef in Disguise took us on a trip to Italy. They challenged us to try our hands at making focaccia from scratch.

While Jim and I have been low carbing for a while now.....the opportunity to make a small batch of focaccia for Ike was very welcome.  I took the recipe from Allrecipes for Focaccia bread and scaled it down to 1/2 size.  At this size it was more than ample for the three of us.  Yes we did try some, and it was very good.  The recipe was adjusted only slightly based on what we had on hand.  I can't wait to  make some this summer in my parent's outdoor pizza oven:)  There is so much variety for toppings and seasonings to add, but this very simple version was perfect as is...very light after the second rising, and easy enough for my son to make:)

Focaccia (adapted from All Recipes.ca)

1 1/3 cup flour plus 1 Tbsp
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 tsp each garlic, oregano , thyme
1/4 tsp basil
pinch black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp warm water


1/2 cup grated asiago cheese
olive oil to drizzle on top


Work first 9 ingredients into a dough using a stand mixer, bread machine on dough mode or by hand.  Let sit to rise until double in size after rolling in an oiled bowl so the dough does not dry out.  Punch down the dough and pat out onto a greased cookie sheet into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.  Poke dimples into the dough and sprinkle with cheese and any other desired toppings.  Let sit to rise for a further 20 minutes.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake in preheated 450F oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

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