Focaccia Bread Herbed With Black Olive & Fresh Rosemary
photo by ncmysteryshopper
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Yields:
-
1 loaf
ingredients
- 1 small potato, peeled
- 1 1⁄2 cups bread flour
- 1 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 (1/4 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
- Cover potato with cold water in medium saucepan.
- Simmer until potato is tender.
- Drain, reserving cooking liquid.
- Mash potato.
- Meanwhile, sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup warm (NOT HOT) potato water with dissolved 1 tablespoon sugar in small bowl, mix together.
- Let stand until the yeast begins to act, about 5 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the yeast mixture.
- In a food processor add together the flours, potato and salt.
- Pulse 4 times.
- With the machine running slowly pour through feed tube the yeast mixture.
- Adding rest of water to make a ball of dough in the machine.
- (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.
- Knead for 1 minute in food processor.
- Turn out on a floured surface, and knead just until smooth.
- Keep the dough soft.
- Pour 1/2 teaspoon of the oil into a clean bowl.
- Place the dough in the bowl, turning once to oil the top.
- Cover.
- Let rise until doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Punch the dough down.
- Use 1 teaspoon of the oil to coat a baking sheet, and place the dough on the baking sheet.
- Gently press the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
- Pour the remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons oil over the top of the dough.
- Use your knuckle to dimple the dough at 1-1/2 inch intervals.
- Sprinkle with the rosemary, black olives and the cheese.
- Place in a cold oven on the center shelf.
- Place a flat pan of hot water on the shelf below the bread.
- Let rise until doubled, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Sprinkle with salt to taste.
- Turn on the oven to 375°F.
- Bake the focaccia for 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned on top.
- Remove from the pan, and cool on a wire rack.
- Serve warm.
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Reviews
-
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.
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This is one of those "if I can do it, anybody can do it" recipes. I'm the world's worst bread baker, but I managed to turn out just about perfect focaccia with this recipe. I divided the dough in half and baked half plain and the other half with the olives and rosemary. I actually prefer the plain, but both are delicious. This has perfect focaccia texture - golden, crispy crust with chewy interior. Wonderful.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Rita1652
Jamesburg, New Jersey