Rosemary Focaccia

As the new year starts, I begin the travail of kicking my nicotine addiction. As done prior, I’ll be doing a bit of baking. As such I’ll start with a basic rosemary focaccia..

From wikipeida:

Focaccia  is a flat oven-baked Italian bread product^[ similar in style and texture to pizza doughs. Focaccia can be used as a side to many meals or as sandwich bread. Focaccia al rosmarino (focaccia with rosemary) is a common focaccia style in Italian cuisine that may be served as an antipasto, appetizer, table bread, or snack.

I’ll set this recipe for a 1/2 sheet pan (18″x 13″) , pretty much the standard to fit a kitchen oven. It is also a good basic recipe for bread sticks or “cheesy bread”

Rosemary Focaccia

This focaccia has a moist but airy crumb sandwiched between thin but ultra-crunchy top and bottom crusts, thanks to a generous amount of olive oil in the pan and on top of the dough. Rosemary and Thyme are used to flavor the oil prior to cooking.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 5 hours hrs

Servings 8 Servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Flavored Oil

• 2 tbsp Fresh Rosemary Washed, Picked, Chopped
• 2 tbsp Fresh Thyme Washed, Picked
• 1/2 Cup olive oil

Dough - Hydrate

• 450 gram Bread Flour
• 350 gram AP Flour
• 100 gram Whole Wheat Flour
• 40 gram Salt
• 625 ml Water Warm

Yeast - Bloom

• 10 gram sugar
• 40 gram Active Dry Yeast
• 125 ml Water Warm

Instructions

 

Flavored Oil

• Wash and chop herbs Add oil Mash with fork Rest for 1 hour

Dough-Hydrate

• In a stand mixer add Flours and water Mix to a shaggy dough Cover and Rest one hour

Yeast - Bloom

• Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast Rest 1 hour

Assembly

• Add Yeast-Bloom to Dough-Hydrate, add salt, and kneed to a silky smooth texture Cover and rest one hour, or until doubled in size
• Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to bottom of 1/2 sheet pan and spread
• Fold dough into pan and spread; let rest 10 minutes and then stretch to fit pan
• Place sheet pan in oven and add a pan of hot water. Allow to rise for 1 hour

Baking

• Remove pan, water pan and dough from oven and heat oven to 450
• Drizzle with flavored oil; Oil hands again and press fingertips firmly into dough, pushing down all the way to bottom of pan to dimple all over. Sprinkle generously with sea salt
• Bake until deep golden brown. (25-35 Minutes) Cool in pan 5-10 minutes

Notes

I've used a mix of flours for taste and texture, (one could just use all strong flour), Bread Flour for gluten development, ap flour for lightness, and whole wheat for a taste kick.

I'll also add roasted garlic to my flavored oil, and may chop some oil cured kalamata olives as a topping.

One may also dust heavily with ground Parmesan cheese prior to baking for that cheesy bread taste and texture.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!