Susan: Easy Rosemary Focaccia (Flatbread) Recipe

Homemade Focaccia Can Be Quite Impressive Looking

Focaccia is a tasty, easy to make, incredibly versatile Italian flatbread that I discovered very late in life—like about 8 months ago. I tried my friend Stephen's quick rosemary focaccia while researching bread recipes for an article I was working on and instantly fell in love. Basically a cross between thick pizza crust and bread, focaccia makes great burgers or sandwiches but is quite tasty eaten on its own or alongside a meal. The olive oil in the dough adds a pleasant flavor and gives the bread a nice texture.

There are a zillion toppings and flavors of focaccia, from the basic olive oil and sprinkling of salt variety to complicated tomato, onion, potato, herb, vegetable, and cheese topped versions that turn it into more of a thick crust pizza. Feel free to experiment with whatever ingredients you have on hand and whatever strikes your fancy. Making focaccia should be fun!


No Matter How You Slice It, Homemade Focaccia Is Always Delicious

I've been meaning to move beyond rosemary but have been perfecting this recipe instead, though I'm looking forward to topping some with fresh tomatoes now that my kitchen garden is finally full of them. The sprinkling of cheese on the top adds a nice flavor and looks pretty, too. I love the addition of a little white wine in the dough, but you can substitute more water instead.

Stephen's recipe calls for mixing the dough in a food processor, but I found it easier (and safer) to simply knead it by hand.

If you don't have a baking/pizza stone, just bake your focaccia on a heavy duty baking sheet. My apologies for not listing the ingredients by weight as well as volume like we usually do.

Are you a fellow focaccia fan? What's your favorite way to make it or enjoy it? If you've written about focaccia on your own blog, you're welcome to leave a link to your post in the comments section below.


Focaccia Makes Great 'Buns'—Lamb Burger Recipe is on Farmgirl Fare

Susan's Simple Rosemary Focaccia
Makes 2 large

4 to 6 cups organic bread flour (all-purpose will work, too)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1-1/2 cups water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on top
1/3 cup dry white wine (or water)
4 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
2 teaspoons salt
Few handfuls freshly grated Pecorino Romano or other hard cheese

Combine 4 cups bread flour and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in water and mix until a soft, sticky dough forms, adding a little more flour if necessary.

Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest 20 minutes.

Mix in olive oil, white wine, 2 Tablespoons rosemary, and salt. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface and begin to knead, sprinkling with more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to your work surface and hands. Knead for 7 to 8 minutes.

Place the dough in a straight sided plastic container with a snap on lid and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. The ideal room/dough temperature for rising dough is about 75 degrees.

After 30 minutes, place a baking stone in the oven and heat to 450 degrees.

Scrape the dough out of the container onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two balls. Place the dough balls on pieces of unbleached parchment paper and flatten each one into a disk or oval about 1/2" thick. Note: I can fit two ovals (but not two rounds) on my rectangular baking stone at one time. If you can only bake one focaccia at a time, set the other one in a cool place or the refrigerator while the first one bakes; or you can always cut the recipe in half.

Generously drizzle the dough with olive oil and use your fingers to spread it evenly, then dimple the dough all over with the pads of your fingers and scatter the remaining 2 Tablespoons of rosemary and the Pecorino Romano over it.

Cover focaccia with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until the dough springs back slowly when you press a finger into it.

Slide the focaccia onto the hot baking stone and bake 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Cool on a wire rack 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Focaccia is best when eaten the same day it's baked, but it freezes beautifully.

Related posts:
Kevin's Grape & Rosemary Focaccia from Local Breads
Susan's Rosemary Feta Lamb Burgers on Rosemary Focaccia

© Copyright 2008 AYearInBread.com, the bread baking blog where we're celebrating the arrival of September (and the fact that it's no longer 88 degrees in the kitchen!) by diving into the flour bins and cranking up the oven.

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