H.C.T.P. #2: Gotta Focaccia Them All
I want to be/the very best/like no one ever was/to bake them is my real test/to eat them is my cause
Paraphrased Pokemon Theme Song, 2020
Welcome back, everybody. Another week, another bread experiment on the second episode of “Here Comes the Pain” with me, ya boi… uh… bakey… mitts.
Anyways, this week, I tried another easy, confidence-building bread and I gotta say, I’m so super impressed with how this came out. I was a little skeptical while I was making it, but the end result blew me away. Even though it didn’t come out the way I was picturing it in my head, the things I’ll do differently next time are all easy fixes.
The bread in question is a basic focaccia. For those that don’t know, focaccia is not only a word I spell differently each time I type it, but a flat-ish Italian bread. It’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades bread, being good as an appetizer, sandwich bread, snack or table bread.
While it takes some time to get from mixing to baking, nearly all the time is hands off. This is a loose, forgiving dough. It’s another no-knead recipe, and even if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can mix this guy all by hand and it’ll still turn out great.
To have a light, bubbly and airy crumb, just make sure you’re gentle and don’t deflate the dough too much when you transfer it to its pan or baking vessel. Use lots of good quality olive oil, both for non-stick purposes and great flavour. If you want a thicker focaccia than shown in my photos, simply use a vessel with less surface area. I used a sheet pan, but next time I’m going to use a pie tin. This will give me a round of thicker focaccia, so I can cut wedges for sandwiches.
As for toppings, a sprinkling of flaky salt is all I did this time, but rosemary leaves, sliced black olives, sun-dried tomatoes or anchovy fillets would all make delicious and easy flavour-boosters. I was honestly surprised at how well this turned out for my first crack at focaccia.
So, without further ado, lemme tell you how:
Baby’s First Focaccia
Ingredients:
- 1.5g active dry yeast
- 375mL cold water
- 30mL extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 15mL honey
- 435g all-purpose flour
- 35g spelt flour
- 12g kosher salt
- Flaky salt, for garnish
Method:
- In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the garnishing salt together until just combined. If using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed using the dough hook for 4-5 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours.
- Oil your baking vessel well with olive oil, and gently scrape the dough out onto it. Drizzle the dough with more olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and let settle for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, put a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 475°F.
- Once relatively settled, uncover the dough, drizzle with more olive oil and dimple all over with your fingers. You should look like a cartoon character banging on a piano. This should press the dough out enough so that it almost covers the bottom of your baking vessel, if it hasn’t already spread out enough.
- Sprinkle the salt all over the top of the dough, as well as any additional toppings you may want to add, then bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven carefully. As soon as you’re able to, transfer the bread from the hot pan to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before tearing into it.
That’s really all there is to it. This bread was so awesome and easy! It was great with dinner. I had made a pot of chili (recipe here) and the strips of fresh focaccia were perfect to dip into it while we watched a movie. I’ll definitely be making this one again, and I hope you try it, too!
Of course, if you DO try it, let me know! Shoot me an email, or leave a comment down below! Thanks for continuing my bread journey with me!
P.S. One last thing, let me plug my latest article over at Apt613! It’s all about the great guys over at Thr33’s Co. Snackbar! Give it a read!
