Focaccia

Our admiration for the Italian bread is an endless love affair. Well, it began during our internship days when we first tasted a piece (read mouthful) of this heavenly bread. 

Robert Browning was right when he quoted,

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens”

Although focaccia is not crusty and baguette-like, it is soft and ....Oh! So Delicious! The edges of the bread gets toasty and when cut open, has the most wonderful and bubbly crumb. Every time I visit a restaurant that has focaccia in its bread basket, I'm a happy girl! Soft and warm focaccia is one of the most enjoyable gourmet affairs for me, and good focaccia with fresh butter is amazing! So, full marks to places like Smoke House Deli and Salt Water Cafe for getting that right.

Anyway now, let's get down to business! Our last kitchen class this term was a 'Make Your Own Sandwich' which included making the bread from scratch. No prizes for guessing the bread we chose to bake. We decided to make a Barbecue Chicken Sandwich on Focaccia along with Red Pepper and Chilli Jam. I must confess that I'm always doubtful and impatient when it comes to bread baking because there's the whole proving...resting business. But, we thought this was a good chance to try our hands on making our favorite bread. 

We quickly looked up a recipe online and found one at www.inspiredtaste.net. We already had the toppings for our bread in mind, but there's so much you can do with focaccia. From sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic and onions, caramelized apples, you can go crazy with the toppings! We did alter the recipe a bit according to the ingredients available to us. Here are the ingredients and the method.

Ingredients:

120 ml olive oil*

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

235 ml warm water

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast**

1/4 teaspoon sugar

350 grams cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

Handful of sliced black olives

*I'd suggest using a good quality olive oil and you absolutely cannot substitute it with any other oil. No olive oil, no focaccia!

**We used fresh yeast as we didn't have dry yeast. So if you are using fresh yeast use about 18 gms of it.

Method:

In a saucepan or a sauteing pan combine the olive oil, garlic, herbs and black pepper. Heat it on a low flame until the garlic is fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown too much as its gonna brown in the oven.In a large bowl combine the yeast, warm water and sugar and leave it in warm place for the yeast to activate. Now, add 1 cup of the flour and 1/4 cup of the infused garlic-olive oil mixture. Stir 3 to 4 times until the flour has moistened. Let sit for 5 minutes.



Add the remaining flour and the salt and some more oil if needed. Once the dough comes together transfer it to a floured surface and knead it for around 10-15 minutes till you get a soft,smooth ball of dough. Transfer it to an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel leaving it to rise for an hour in a warm place.

Preheat your oven to 230°C and using the flavoured oil grease your tray. Transfer the dough to your baking tray and press it down into the pan. Using your fingers, dimple the dough to form indentations and pour the olive oil on the top along with your desired topping.

Go crazy with toppings!!

Bake for around 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. We let it cool to room temperature so that we could use it for our sandwich but it is perfect when served plain, while warm. This bread shines on its own.

This was our first foray into the realm of breads and we're surely gonna try something again.