Focaccia Bread

I am extremely intimidated by making bread, but I am trying to face my fear. I was going to make a tasty pasta for dinner, and I decided to try making focaccia to serve with it. I wanted to keep it simple, so I followed Tyler Florence’s easy focaccia bread recipe but kept the toppings to sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. This focaccia recipe was fairly simple to make, turned out really tasty, and it paired nicely with our linguine and Italian salad.

Focaccia Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp rapid-rising dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3¾ cups of flour
• 1 tbsp coarse salt + 2 tbsp warm water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Cornmeal for dusting
• Olive oil to drizzle all over the surface of the bread
• Coarse sea salt, to taste
• Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

How to Make Focaccia Bread:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, proof the yeast by combining it with warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve. Let stand for 3 minutes until foam appears.

Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve the salt in the 2 tablespoons of water, then add it to the dough mixture along with the olive oil.

When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the sides and hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a work surface and fold it over itself a few times. Form the dough into a round ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl; turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil so it doesn’t form a skin.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil and cornmeal.

Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about ½ inch thick.

Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips.

Drizzle more olive oil over the surface, then season with coarse sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.

Bake on the bottom rack for 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately. Enjoy.