Rosemary Focaccia Bread

PastedGraphic-2.jpg

This recipe makes two 9-inch round loaves. You can get very creative with toppings, such as making vegetable art. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

SPONGE:

½ cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup room temperature water

¼ teaspoon instant yeast

DOUGH:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cup room temperature water

1 teaspoon instant yeast

Kosher salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary

DIRECTIONS

  1. For the sponge – Stir all of the ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
    It will be wet. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature until the sponge has risen. Approximately 6 hours. You can leave it up to 24 hours.

  2. For the dough – Stir into the sponge the flour, water and yeast until all well
    is combined. Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rest for 15 minutes.
    DO NOT ADD THE SALT YET.

  3. Add two teaspoons of kosher salt to the dough and combine it thoroughly.
    Let the dough rest again, covered for 30 minutes.

  4. Use a greased bowl scraper or spatula and fold the dough over by lifting
    and folding the edge to the middle. Turn the bowl and do this six more times. Cover the bowl with plastic and let rise 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes,
    do this one more time, repeating the folding. Cover the dough and let it rest 30 minutes to an hour.

  5. While the dough is resting, heat the oven to 500 degrees. Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.

  6. Coat each 9-inch pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle each pan with
    ½ teaspoon kosher salt.

  7. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. The dough will be soft and somewhat wet. That is normal. Divide the dough in half. Take one piece of dough at a time and shape into a ball by gently tucking under the edges.

  8. Place the ball seam side up into the pan then flip it over. This will oil the top. Use your fingertips to press the dough into the corners of the pan, careful to not tear the dough. Do the same with the other ball. Now you will take a fork and poke about 20-30 times. Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of Rosemary. Now let the dough rest another 10 minutes. It will start to bubble.

  9. Place the pans in the oven and turn the temperature down to 450 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes. The tops should be golden brown. Remove and let cool on a rack for 30 minutes before cutting. Brush the tops with any left-over oil.

Maria Minden Telfer is the Vice President of Business Development for GoRoverGo (a division of ExpressCorporate Housing) When she is not working you can find her baking and cooking her favorite recipes for her family and friends.

   

Food & DrinkMaria TelferRecipesComment