Good Eating Tuesday: Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread

Back in December we pretty stopped eating bread--like sandwiches, grocery store bread, etc---mostly. Sometimes, I'll have a half-sandwich at Panera on whole grain bread or I'll eat bread if I've made it myself, usually to go with spaghetti or something.

I've only made bread 3 times since December and today's Pinterest recipe I tried for Garlic Rosemary Foccaccia Bread is the 3rd.

It was the best bread I've ever made! It was fantastic. Flavorful. Easy. It's kind of a flatish bread baked in a 10 x 13 pan.

I stirred it up by hand, though an electric mixer with a bread hook can be used if you have one. (It's not a bread machine recipe)

The recipe source recommended a mix of 1 1/4 cups bread flour and 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. Mine was a mix of wheat bread flour and unbleached all purpose flour, but she was right--- mixing them does make a good good bread!

Also she had a cool technique for proofing (rising) the bread in a dryer---first you run your dryer 5 minutes to get it hot, then turn off and set the covered bowl in the bottom, close the door and let it rest a hour or so until it's doubled.

Since I've decided this Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread will be my go-to for Spaghetti or any future garlic bread occasion, I'll probably be using the dryer proofing method again!

Plus I have a Rosemary outside happy to be snipped.

(photo of bread above is my own)

You might like to use a cooking thermometer for the right water temperature for yeast; water can't to too hot or it kills the yeast.

Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup warm water (110-115F)

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 (.25oz) packet of yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

3 3/4 cups flour plus 1 or 2 extra Tablesoons (see directions)

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup Olive Oil, divided 

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Rosemary

1/4 cup roasted garlic, sliced (or 1 Tablespoon of prepared minced bottled garlic works if you don't have any roasted on hand.)

Directions:

In a 2-cup size measuring cup: add water, sugar & yeast, then give it a stir and set aside for 15 minutes. 

The yeast will turn it foamy and bubbly by the end of that time.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl: combine flour, salt, 1/4 cup Olive Oil, chopped rosemary and garlic, stirring enough so it's roughly combined. Now add the yeast and stir until dough forms up making sure all the flour gets well mixed.

Once all the flour is all mixed in, you'll want to form the dough into a ball with your hands; if it seems still sticky to touch, add another Tablespoon of flour and work in with a spoon until it's not sticky to the touch, then mold it into a ball with your hands. 

( I found it needed only 1 extra Tablespoon, though the recipe allows up to 2. Too much extra flour makes a bread dough tough.)

Transfer the dough ball to a clean bowl that's been greased lightly with olive oil, then rub a dime sized amount of Olive Oil over the surface of the dough ball to keep it moist.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then allow to rest in a warm place for about an hour to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in size. 

 Tip: To rise your dough a bit faster, warm up dryer up 4 or 5 minutes, turn off, then place your bread bowl inside dryer, close the door and don't open for an hour. 

The warm moist climate inside should speed up the rising, so your dough will be doubled in a hour. 

Meanwhile, grease a 10 x 13 baking pan with 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil. 

Once your dough is doubled, preheat the oven for 400F, then 

dump the dough into your 10 x 13 pan. Using your fingers, gently push the dough out so that it fits the pan.

Cover with plastic and let rest 20 minutes.

(I see I missed that last 20 minute rest when I made mine, but you know, it didn't effect the bread at all. I just poked it as directed and baked it right away and it turned out great!)

After 20 minutes, remove plastic, brush top of dough with Olive Oil, then poke up and down the surface of the dough with your finger down to the pan, kind of like a poke cake.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Brush top of baked bread lightly with more olive oil and let cool a few minutes before slicing into rectangles.

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Try it out and Enjoy!

Photo of Rosemary is from Pixabay & pictures of yeast and pan of bread from the Pin location.