Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- To make dough:
- 10 g honey (1/2 T)
- 1 c warm water (100-110F)
- 1/2 T active dry yeast
- 3/4 t salt - table
- 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil (plus more later)
- 1/4 c diced onion
- 312 g Flour (Plain) (2.5 cups; plus more as needed)
- To finish:
- 1.5 T olive oil
- 1 T grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 t sea salt
- 1 T fresh rosemary sprigs
Method
Make dough:
1. Dissolve honey in the warm water in a large bowl, then mix in the yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast begins to foam.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt. Add onions. Once it's foamy, add yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir until the dough comes together.
3. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes.
First rise:
4. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with cling film.
5. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 to 40 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 415F (215C).
Make foccacia:
7. Place dough onto oiled baking sheet, and flatten to cover the whole sheet evenly.
8. Use the tips of your fingers to make indentations all over the dough spaced about 1" apart.
9. Drizzle the focaccia with olive oil, then use a brush to spread it evenly. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and sea salt over the top. Place the rosemary sprigs in about half of the indentations, until it looks mostly covered.
Second rise: 10. Let rise for 15 minutes.
Bake:
11. Bake in preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
12. Remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack.
13. Remove rosemary sprigs, cut, and serve!
Notes
SJ Note: This is excellent! Definitely a keeper. I needed more flour (around 1.5 cups more) than it called for. I gave it more rise time on each rising than called for, and have updated the recipe to reflect this; it also took less time to bake than called for (15 instead of 20 minutes), so watch it carefully. All in all, quite easy, and a wonderful bread in the end! I shall be making this again and again!
SJ Note 10 Jan 2017: Have updated to make recipe easier to follow. Also took out original measurements: we only ever make a half-batch, so I've only left those measurements. Rest assured this recipe will double without issue if you want.