Focaccia!
By: Allisonmn
Published: Saturday, August 7, 2010 - 6:28pm

Ingredients




1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus additional for brushing on top of loaf)
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose wheat flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1/4 cup sliced black olives or other toppings of your choice
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence or other dried herbs of your choice

Preparation

1 Use a small amount of olive oil to grease the inside of a round 9-inch pan. 2 Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Beat at high speed for about one minute, with a stand mixer or electric mixer. 3 Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for one hour at room temperature. It will become puffy! 4 While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 5 When the dough is finished rising, lightly poke the top of the dough all over. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the dough with olive oil, gently push-in the sliced olives, sprinkle with herbs and shredded cheese. 6 Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown. During this time, your house will smell like Italy. No joke! 7 Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for five minutes before you remove from the baking pan. Cool on a wire rack. 8 I recommend serving this warm!

About


My house smelled like Italy. Let me tell you, it was amazing! I took my 5th or 6th try at making a yeast bread, and what emerged from my oven was a fragrant focaccia loaf! I had to do a double-take…did I really make that? Did my loaf actually rise and not feel like a heavy brick?