Kenmore Undressed

The Cooking Realtor – Home Made Focaccia (Italian Flatbread)

Baking Bread is Easy

The huge variety of artisan breads at our local grocery stores pretty much makes the art of baking home made bread seem a little absurd. After all, we can buy some very delicious bread these days. But you know what? I LOVE baking my own bread and now that Summer has arrived (with all the fresh vegetables) it’s time to make Italian Flatbread commonly known as focaccia. Focaccia is one of the easier yeast-based breads to make. This particular recipe will make a medium-size flat bread. If you don’t have a special pan, don’t worry. All you need is a flat cookie sheet. So let’s get started:

Ingredients – Simplicity Itself

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

1 Cup of warm water – OK, the recipe always says 110º – 115° but here’s the bottom line: the water simply needs to be tepid or barely warm to the touch.

1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast

3 1/4 cups bread flour (you can use all-purpose flour/semolina/a combination

1 teaspoon salt (preferrably non-iodized)

1/4 Cup olive oil (if you don’t have olive oil, use vegetable oil)

The Technique

Step One – Proofing the yeast

Fill the measuring cup with tepid water from your faucet. If the water is barely warm, it’s hot enough. Pour the water into the bowl of your mixer and immediately dissolve the tablespoon of sugar into it. Then add the yeast and stir it gently just to mix.

Allow the yeast to activate in the sugar water for a few minutes. You’ll know if your yeast is alive when it looks like this:

Once the yeast is foamy, add 1 cup of the flour into the yeast water and then blend the mixture for 4 or 5 minutes. Let this mixture rest for 1/2 hour (if it rests for an hour that’s good). The purpose of this resting period is to let the gluten (protein) in the flour develop the long strands that will ultimately give the bread character.

Step Two – Kneading the dough

You’re now going to add the rest of the flour (about 2 cups). Before adding the flour to the proofed yeast mixture, mix the teaspoon of salt into the flour. This is very important because you want to keep the salt away from direct contact with the yeast. Add the olive oil and then mix everything together with a wooden spoon or your hand. Attach the dough hook and mix the dough for about 10 minutes at medium speed.

First Rising

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl with some olive oil to coat the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with a plastic bag and let it rise for at least one hour (2 hours is better). Make sure your dough is not in a cool place or it will take forever to rise.

Second Rising

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it into a ball on your work surface. Then cover the ball with plastic and allow it to rest for another 30 minutes.Then you’re ready to roll out the dough for its:

Final Rise

The dough should be velvety and pliable at this point. Now you’re going to roll the dough out into its baking sheet or tray:

When the dough has risen for 1/2 hour to an hour, remove the plastic. Now, brush the dough with olive oil. For this recipe, the only other topping I put on the dough is salt and pepper…that’s it. You can also put any topping you want at this point, just like pizza.

Now it’s time to put the dough into a 400° pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes. Then take a look at what happens:

Isn’t it beautiful? The only thing my blog needs is a smell button because when this focaccia comes out of the oven, you’re not going to be able to resist it. Enjoy.

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