A Memorable Focaccia Making focaccia at home is easier than you might think! This recipe is a variation of our jalapeño-cheddar focaccia and features colorful medley tomatoes in red, yellow, orange and purple. Add sage, homemade garlic confit, and your favorite olive and we think you'll be baking seconds soon enough!
This oven-baked Italian bread is similar in style and texture to pizza dough and in some places, it's called "pizza bianca" (white pizza) as it's enjoyed without red sauce. Focaccia can be enjoyed as a side dish or as sandwich bread and it comes in a variety of handmade shapes including round, rectangular, square, or irregular.
Time To Prepare: About 25 minutes to prep the dough, 2 hours to rest the dough, and 25-30 minutes for baking.
Foodie Tips:
About 00 Flour: Double zero flour is also known in Italian as "doppio zero" or simply typeset as "00" flour. It's the gold standard of Italian dough making and I love using it for my pizza, pasta, and focaccia creations. You can learn more about the differences between 00 and All Purpose (AP) flour in this helpful MasterClass article. Trust me - once you try 00 flour you will likely be a fan of your new floury friend. As Master Class notes: 00 flour "straddles the best of both worlds: tender and toothsome with a hint of give."
Olives: I recommend using a Castelvetrano or black olive (shown).
Ingredients:
For the Dough: 1 ¾ Cups | Warm Water 1 Package | Active Dry Yeast 1 Tablespoon | Sugar 5 Cups | 00 Flour, Plus Some Additional Flour For Kneading 1 Tablespoon | Kosher Salt ½ Cup, Plus A Little Extra | Extra Virgin Olive Oil For the Garlic Confit: 1-2 Heads | Fresh Garlic Cloves, Peeled and Whole
To Cover The Garlic | Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2-3 | Fresh Sage Leaves To Top:
10-12 Ounces | Medley Tomatoes, Halved 15-20 | Fresh Sage Leaves 6 Ounce Can | Olive Of Your Choice, Pitted and Sliced (Optional)
To Top | Baked Garlic and Garlic Olive Oil, Reserved From The Confit Above
To Top | Sprinkling Of Maldon Flake Salt Or Gray Sea Salt (Optional)
To Serve | Parmigiano Reggiano, Freshly Grated
What To Do:
1. Prep Your Yeast:
Combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl in a warm (not hot), location until the yeast is bubbling and aromatic, at least 15 minutes.
2. Start Your Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, ½ cup of olive oil, and the yeast mixture (from step 1) on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5-6 minutes on a medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft. Give it a sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky.
3. Knead Your Dough
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface, then knead it by hand 1 or 2 times. Give it another sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.
4. The First Rising
Coat the inside of the mixer bowl lightly with some olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, for at least 1 hour.
5. Form Your Focaccia Coat a jelly roll pan with some more olive oil. This may seem excessive, but focaccia is an oily-crusted bread which is why it is so delicious! Place the dough onto the jelly roll pan and begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pan. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make finger holes all the way through the dough. This may seem odd but when the dough rises again it will create the characteristic craggy look unique to focaccia. 6. The Second Rising Put the dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough rises the second time...
7. Make The Garlic Confit Preheat your oven to 325°F. In a small oven-safe ramekin (my 10-ounce mini Le Creuset cocotte worked great), add the peeled garlic cloves and cover with olive oil. Add 2-3 sage leaves and cover. Cover with a lid (or foil) and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the garlic from the oil and set it aside. Keep the garlic-infused olive oil for our final step!
8. Final Prep + Bake Increase the oven temperate to 425°F. Over the top of the focaccia, carefully press and alternate "tucks" of the tomatoes (cut side up), sage leaves, baked garlic cloves, and sliced olives (if using) into the focaccia so that you don't deflate the dough. Lightly drizzle a little more garlic-infused olive oil on top and liberally sprinkle the top of the prepared focaccia with the Maldon or Gray salt. Bake the dough until the top is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and let it cool a bit. What's the only thing that could make this better? That's right - sprinkle fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on top, cut, and serve.
Yield: 8-12+ servings. Focaccia will keep well in the fridge when wrapped in press and seal/cling wrap. You can microwave leftovers in a pinch for a snack on the go!
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Joe Paul Reider
Home Style Austin Founder Austin Realtor® Keller Williams Realty
Email: JoePaul@KW.com Mobile: 512-222-3302 Web: JoePaulReider.KW.com
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