Rosemary, Olive & Roasted Garlic Focaccia
Crunchy on the outside, soft and airy in the middle, with surprise bites of briny olives, rosemary and smokey sweet garlic. An easy bread to make!
Though the French have the reputation for superior breads, the Italians vie for top ranking with many of their yeast-based creations, including Ciabatta, Pane Toscano, Ciriola and the Christmas Panettone and of course this featured character, Focaccia.
The enticing feature of Focaccia is its airy, light nature created by bubbles in the dough, which the yeast creates, as in the interior of a good French loaf. And the dimples on top - how cute are they - and the perfect pockets into which olives, almonds, rosemary and garlic can nestle. They also serve the practical purpose of reminding the dough to stay in control and to not overdo it on the rise. Leave that to the generic Italian loaf.
And don’t forget a sprinkle of salt on the top before serving to pop as an accent at the first scrumptious bite!
Focaccia with Olives, Roasted Garlic and Rosemary
2 cups warm water (105°F; to 115°F;)
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
4 1/2 cups (about) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
24 black or green brine-cured olives (such as Kalamata or Greek), pitted and halved
1 head roasted garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
3/4 cups olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
coarsely cracked black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
-Place 2 cups warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle dry yeast over; stir with fork. Stir in sugar. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes.
-Add 4 1/4 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture and stir to blend well (dough will be sticky). Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is too sticky. (If using a mixer with a dough hook, combine the ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix with the whip, until dough becomes too stiff, then change to the dough hook and let it knead for about 8 minutes.)
-Form dough into ball. Oil large bowl; add dough, turning to coat dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm area until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. (Or place in the oven on the “bread proofing” setting for 1 hour.)
-Punch down dough; knead into ball and return to same bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm area again, until doubled, about 45 minutes.
-Coat a 15x10-inch baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Punch down dough and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Using fingertips, press out dough to 13x10-inch rectangle. Let dough rest 10 minutes. Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil over dough. Sprinkle evenly with chopped rosemary over the top. Let dough rise uncovered in warm area until puffy, about 25 minutes.
-Preheat oven to 450°F. Press fingertips all over the dough, forming indentations. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves into indentations and place olives into other indentations. Bake bread until brown and crusty, 25 - 30 minutes. Cut bread into squares or rectangles. Serve bread warm or at room temperature. Serves 8 - 10
-Serve with 3/4 cup olive oil mixed with 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning and freshly cracked black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper, as a dip for the bread.
Place the kneaded dough into an oiled bowl, turn to coat dough with oil, cover and let rise.
Push the dough out to cover the baking sheet, let rest, then poke with fingertips and place olives and roasted garlic in the dimples in the dough.
Light and airy inside and crunchy on the out side!
Cut the focaccia into finger slices and serve with olive oil mixed with Italian spices as a dip.
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**To roast garlic: Take a head of garlic and peel off the papery layer from the outside, leaving cloves attached. With a sharp knife, slice off the very tip of each clove so that the garlic meat is exposed. Place in a small ovenproof dish, stem end down then pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over garlic. Place in a 380-degree oven. Bake for 15 minutes then cover with foil. Continue to bake another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover and let rest until ready to use. To remove garlic pulp from each clove, simply push from the bottom end of the clove and the soft pulp will squeeze out.
**Focaccia is best served the same day as baked, or frozen when it is just cooled. If freezing, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw, then reheat in a 350 oven, uncovered, until warm and crunchy. Sprinkle olive oil over the top of the focaccia fingers to refresh them!
**When making yeast breads, be careful that the water is not too hot when the yeast is added. Cooler water is better than water that is too hot. If it is just barely warm, that is warm enough. (Bakers often say, the same temperature as a baby’s bath water though how warm that is, is debatable.) Error on the side of too cool. Your yeast will still rise, but a bit more slowly.
**For best flavor and texture, eat focaccia the same day it is baked - not difficult to do!
