Focaccia

Kitty FloridoJune 13, 2020

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

This is the first recipe I am trying out with yeast during our time at home. It was a bit harder for me to find yeast (other than in a one-pound bag), so the first recipe I did was this one. It’s pretty straight forward. You need to combine all the ingredients, then let the dough rest for at least for 24 hours before baking.

Focaccia is a basic bread for us who want to start bread-making adventures. It’s basically five ingredients: flour, yeast, olive oil, salt and water. And a lot of patience. As I said before, you need to rest the dough for at least 24 hours in the fridge, and then a couple of hours for a second rise before the baking.

For ease and precision, we strongly and highly recommend getting a scale. Both Helga and I have digital scales (they work wonders) and got them for about $15 each. They are a good investment, and if you’re planning on baking a bit more than usual, its a no-brainer.

Now, when shopping you’ll find active dry yeast and instant rapid-rise yeast. Both can be used interchangeably in recipes, but active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in warm water before using while instant yeast can be mixed right into the dough. Water has to be between 105-110°F for proofing, being 95°F the best temperature for the yeast.

So, to use the digital scale it’s really easy. You turn it on, then place the bowl you’re going to be mixing the dough on top. Zero the weight and add the 415 grams of all-purpose flour. Zero again, and add the salt and active yeast, add the water and mix until combined.

Now, it’s crucial that you allow both resting times as stated. The first time I made this recipe, I only waited 45 minutes for the second rise and the results were significantly different. So, practice your zen, be patient and enjoy delicious homemade bread in… about 36 hours 😆 Trust us, its worth it.

Kitty

Focaccia

Makes one 9-by-13-in. pan, or two 8-in. pies
Recipe adapted from NYTimes Cooking

Ingredients:
415 grams all-purpose flour (3 ¼ cups)
1 tablespoon salt + 1 ½ teaspoon salt, divided
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
420 milliliters warm water (1 ¾ cups)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, and yeast. Add the warm water to the flour mixture and stir until all the flour is incorporated and a sticky dough forms. add two tablespoons of olive oil, turn the dough to coat, and cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap.
Place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 24 hours or for up to 2 days.⁣
To bake, brush the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking sheet or two 8-inch. pie pans with olive oil. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it to the prepared pan.
Using your hands, spread the dough out as much as possible, adding oil to the dough if needed to keep it from sticking.
Place the dough in a warm place and let rise until about doubled in size. This process can take from 2 to 4 hours.
Heat the oven to 450ºF. Using your palms, pat down the focaccia to an even thickness of about 1-in., then, using your fingertips, dimple the entire dough.
Drizzle it with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle salt on top.
Bake, rotating once until the top is uniformly golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the focaccia on the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen

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