Focaccia Bread

Focaccia Bread - surprisingly easy yet rich and aromatic EASY bread that's chewy, soft with slightly crisp exterior. A great alternative to the usual pizza dough. Serve it with soups and stews, snacks or as appetizers. Flavorful in every bite!

Course Bread

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 20

Rising Time 1 20

Total Time 2 15

Servings pieces

Calories 217kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

½ cup (125 ml)extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon (3 g) chopped fresh thyme
½ tablespoon (1.5 g) chopped fresh rosemary
¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) fresh ground black pepper
1 1/3 cup warm milk
2 teaspoons (8 g) sugar
2 ¼ - 3 teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast (1 packet)
3 1/ 4 - 31/2 cups (469-500 g) all-purpose flour (see notes)
½ teaspoon (2.5g) fine sea salt plus some to garnish
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Instructions

In a medium saucepan pan, combine olive oil, minced garlic, chopped thyme, chopped rosemary, and black pepper. Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until aromatic, but before the garlic browns. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add warm milk and sugar, stir to combine. Add yeast to the milk and stir. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
Add half of the flour, salt and a 1/3 cup of the infused garlic-olive oil mixture into the bowl of yeast and milk. Stir until the flour is moistened, then stir in the remaining flour and mix until the dough comes together for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer dough to a floured board and knead 10 to 15 times until smooth. Do not over knead dough.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and place in a warm area. Let it rise for about an hour or until it has nearly doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and roll it out into a large circle or rectangle until the dough is about 1/2-inch thick. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap, and transfer the dough to a large greased baking sheet. Use your fingers to poke very deep dimples all over the surface of the dough, then drizzle the rest of infused olive oil/garlic mixture over the top of the dough, and sprinkle evenly with the fresh rosemary needles and sea salt.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired.
Slice, and serve warm.

Notes

When working with flour start with about 3 cups then add as needed until you form a soft dough.
To refrigerate or freeze leftover focaccia, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then in an aluminum foil. Keep in the refrigerator for about 2 days and in the freezer for about a month.
If you prefer a thinner focaccia bread, just roll it out a little more. It will rise up considerably while baking.
You can also use bread flour to make this focaccia bread. Both all-purpose flour and bread flour yield excellent results.
You can also store focaccia dough in a Ziploc bag, remove all the air from the bag and close tightly and keep in the refrigerator for about three days and in the freezer for about 3 months. When ready to use, thaw dough in the refrigerator overnight and bake following above procedure.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition