Focaccia Bread Herbed With Black Olive & Fresh Rosemary

Rita~'s Note:

Try it with Sun dried tomatoes instead of the olives. Have a dish of first press extra virgin olive oil, season it with pepper. Dip away!

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 loaf

• 1 small potato , peeled
• 1 ½ cups bread flour
• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 (¼ ounce) package fast rising yeast
• 1 1⁄3; cups warm potato water (more or less)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil , divided use
• 2 tablespoons freshly snipped rosemary
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives
• sea salt

Directions:

1. Cover potato with cold water in medium saucepan.
2. Simmer until potato is tender.
3. Drain, reserving cooking liquid.
4. Mash potato.
5. Meanwhile, sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup warm (NOT HOT) potato water with dissolved 1 tablespoon sugar in small bowl, mix together.
6. Let stand until the yeast begins to act, about 5 minutes.
7. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the yeast mixture.
8. In a food processor add together the flours, potato and salt.
9. Pulse 4 times.
10. With the machine running slowly pour through feed tube the yeast mixture.
11. Adding rest of water to make a ball of dough in the machine.
12. (Be careful not to over add the water) Use only enough water so the dough comes into a ball and away from sides of bowl.
13. Knead for 1 minute in food processor.
14. Turn out on a floured surface, and knead just until smooth.
15. Keep the dough soft.
16. Pour 1/2 teaspoon of the oil into a clean bowl.
17. Place the dough in the bowl, turning once to oil the top.
18. Cover.
19. Let rise until doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
20. Punch the dough down.
21. Use 1 teaspoon of the oil to coat a baking sheet, and place the dough on the baking sheet.
22. Gently press the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
23. Pour the remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons oil over the top of the dough.
24. Use your knuckle to dimple the dough at 1-1/2 inch intervals.
25. Sprinkle with the rosemary, black olives and the cheese.
26. Place in a cold oven on the center shelf.
27. Place a flat pan of hot water on the shelf below the bread.
28. Let rise until doubled, 20 to 25 minutes.
29. Sprinkle with salt to taste.
30. Turn on the oven to 375°F.
31. Bake the focaccia for 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned on top.
32. Remove from the pan, and cool on a wire rack.
33. Serve warm.

Reviews

[Jade #3]

Very delish! This turned out so nice and moist. Hubby asked what I was doing with a pot of water sitting in the oven, but now we know! I added some carmelized onion to one half of the loaf and some dried tomatoes to the whole thing. Yummy!

[Sackville]

What a delightful bread! I actually had a recipe for focaccia bread before this, which I thought was pretty good, but I will be using this one from now on. It is light, cooks to a beautiful golden brown and easily makes two 12 inch rounds. Make sure you use fresh, real Parmesan cheese and fresh rosemary for the best taste. And I thought it got even better the next day for lunch! Worth noting: the time given to prepare and cook it is a bit misleading. If you count all the rising times you'll need at least an hour and a half from start to finish. Still, it's definitely worth the effort. Also, I only needed about 2/3 cup potato water to bring the dough together.

[SarasotaCook]

Great bread, I used olives, some sundried tomatoes and a little onion. All three. But loved the recipe. Turned out great.