Finding a recipe for bread with garlic, rosemary and olive oil in it is liking finding a great pair of four inch black patent leather high heels on sale in my size no less. Yes, my love of bread is ranked just slightly below my love of shoes. In my world there is no such thing as too much of either although if I had to cut back on something it probably would be bread. But seriously I thought making bread was a little difficult but making focaccia completely changed that perception and was a paradigm shift that I never thought would happen. Yes, shift really can happen, well for most of us anyway.
If you don't have a thermometer I would encourage you to buy one just to ensure you get the water temperature right. If you have a meat or candy thermometer either will work. The yeast and three tablespoons of olive oil are added to the 110 degree temperature water, whisked together and then set aside.
This past summer when I moved into this little farmhouse I planted some rosemary. Although we have had alot of snow this winter, the climate near the ocean is milder than in the midwest so my rosemary bushes have not only survived but they have thrived. There is something seductive about the smell of fresh rosemary, okay maybe seductive is too strong of a word, maybe I should have said it is intoxicating. For this recipe you will need two tablespoons of freshly chopped rosemary.
Next to rosemary, garlic is my next favorite food aroma. The smell of freshly chopped garlic, garlic roasting in the oven or garlic being sautéed in olive oil, well this would be intoxicating too. This recipe uses eight cloves of garlic chopped to a mince.
Five cups of flour and two teaspoons of Kosher salt are added to a large bowl. When measuring flour add the flour to the measuring cup and then with a knife smooth over the top to get the perfect cup. If you dip your measuring cup into the flour it will pack which means you will actually end up with more than one cup of flour.
The garlic and rosemary are added to the flour salt mixture. Using a whisk or wooden spoon combine thoroughly.
The water-yeast mixture and milk are then added to the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon mix combine the wet and dry ingredients. Once combined beat vigorously for about a minute until it all comes together in a ball.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for approximately one hour or until it has doubled in size.
Using an 11 by 17 inch jelly roll pan spread 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil over the bottom. Remove dough from bowl and using your hand press on dough so the pan is covered completely. If the dough is resisting, let it set for a minutes before continuing to press and stretch it out. Once it is all spread out, use your thumb to make indentations every two inches.
Top the dough with 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil and one teaspoon of sea salt. Additional sprigs of rosemary can be be added as well. Let the dough rest uncovered for about an hour or until it has doubled in bulk.
Place in the lower third of the oven and bake at 450 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. If the is browning too quickly place another jelly roll pan underneath. Rather than take any chances or getting distracted I begin the baking with the use of two jellyroll pans.
The focaccia bakes to a most beautiful golden brown. The aroma coming out of the oven is incredible but the taste of this bread dipped in olive oil is so over the top delicious flavored. The garlic and the rosemary don't overpower the focaccia but you can taste these flavors in each bite. And as it turns out making this focaccia is pretty easy, really.
Garlic-Rosemary Focaccia (slightly adapted version created by Nick Malgieri's "How to Bake" cookbook)
Ingredients
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope active dry yeast
6 Tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil (divided)
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
8 cloves fresh chopped garlic
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Directions
1. Measure water in a bowl. Immediately whisk in yeast and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine flour with 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, rosemary and garlic. Combine thoroughly.
3. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir the water-yeast mixture and milk into flour mixture stirring thoroughly until the flour is thoroughly moistened. Then beat vigorously for one minute, as it will come together in a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it has doubled in bulk, about one hour.
4. Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil onto a 11 by 17 inch jelly roll pan. Spread olive oil with your fingers to cover the pan.
5. Turn the dough out to the bowl onto the pan and pat to press it to fill in completely. If the dough resists let it rest for a few minutes before continuing to press it out to stretch it to fill the edges of the pan.
6. Dimple the surface of the focaccia with your thumb to poke cavities in the dough at 2 inch intervals.
7. Drizzle the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh rosemary sprigs.
8. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
9. About 20 minutes before baking set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
10. Bake the focaccia for 20 to 25 minutes or until a deep golden color. Lift a side of the focaccia with a spatula about 15 minutes into the baking to see if it is coloring too quickly. It it is, slide another pan under it to insulate the bottom.
11. If you are serving immediately or serving later, slide the focaccia off the pan to a rack to cool.
12. Cut into narrow long slices about 1 1/2 or 2 inches thick if serving for dinner or as an appetizer. Serve with plenty of good quality olive oil for dipping or softened butter topped with sea salt.
13. If making for sandwiches cut into the size squares of your choice, then cut horizontally when making the sandwich.
Note: The focaccia is best on the day it is made.
Finding a new recipe that takes your cooking or baking to new places is like finding an interesting antique or treasure. Just like I thought I had no interest in baking bread, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would buy a set of real deer antlers. But last fall I was up in Maine antiquing and there sitting on a table in an antique shop were a set of deer antlers. I noticed them but kept on browsing.
When I am on the hunt for a particular item I tend not to see everything in front of me so I end up walking around and around an antique shop several times over. But as I kept walking around, I kept seeing the antlers. They were not anywhere on my list of must haves. Yet there was something alluring about them. If they could have talked they would have been calling my name, no they would have been shouting my name. So about the fourth and last time around the antique store I decided I wanted them, that I needed to have them. Suddenly all of my preconceived notions about antlers flew out the window. In some ways there is connection between these antlers and making of the focaccia. After I let go of my preconceived notions about both of them, I wondered why it took me so long to open myself up to possibilities.