rosemary sea salt and garlic parmesan focaccia

Sometimes the things I make don’t come out the way I had intended.

fresh from the oven

Not that this focaccia came out badly.  It was delicious, but the texture was more like a  fluffy white bread than the chewy, flavorful focaccia I was looking for.  I was surprised, because this recipe came from the dear departed Gourmet (may it rest in peace), which makes me feel like I must have screwed something up.

that's quite a rise

That’s the only reason I’m sharing this – well, also because it’s still delicious with some olive oil, but because maybe if you give it a shot you’ll get something a little more focaccia-y than I did.  I’m thinking next time I’ll try a longer rising time – this baby has a lot of yeast, and the fairly quick (and single) rise doesn’t give flavor a lot of time to develop.

sprinkle some

and sprinkle some more

But you can’t go wrong with garlic, Parmesan, and rosemary, so I say give it a shot.  And keep some good olive oil and sea salt nearby.

golden and lovely

"it's...so...FLUFFY"

 

Basic Focaccia Dough

Adapted from Gourmet

For dough:

two 1/4-ounce packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups warm water (105°‐115° F.)

1 tablespoon table salt

about 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons cornmeal

For flavored focaccie:

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup olive oil plus a tablespoon or two for brushing

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan

coarse salt for sprinkling

For basic dough:
In a standing electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment beat together yeast, sugar, and water and let stand 5 minutes, or until foamy. In a bowl stir together table salt and 5 cups flour. Stir 1/3 cup olive oil into yeast mixture. With motor on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to yeast mixture. With dough hook knead dough 2 minutes, or until soft and slightly sticky.  [*Alli’s note: I don’t have a KitchenAid (I know, first world problems) so I did this by hand and it came out fine.]

Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead in enough remaining flour to form a soft but not sticky dough. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. If using, knead rosemary into one half.   Knead plain half 1 minute. Form each half into an oval and invert bowl over them. Let dough rest 5 minutes for easier rolling.

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Oil two 13- by 9-inch baking pans {*Alli’s note: I used cookie sheets and went free-form] and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. On lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough halves into 13- by 9-inch rectangles and fit into pans. Cover each pan with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.

Sautee 1/4 cup olive oil with garlic.  Set aside.

If using, brush plain dough with garlic oil; sprinkle with Parmesan and a pinch of coarse salt.  Brush rosemary dough with plain olive oil and sprinkle with more rosemary and sea salt.   With lightly oiled fingertips, make indentations, about 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch apart, all over dough rectangles and bake in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until golden. Remove focaccie from pans and cool on racks.