I'm one of those people that could eat an entire loaf of bread with some butter everyday. Yup, thankfully I hold back, but occasionally I love to splurge and have bread for dinner.
One of my favorite breads is focaccia. I love making it four ways like this so I don't have to choose just one kind to make. You don't have to make the bread rope divider in between like I do, I just wanted to make it clear in the picture.
Focaccia
Makes 1 loaf
What you'll need:
1 packet or about 2 tbsp. of yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp. sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour (you can use AP or whole wheat)
1 tbsp. kosher salt dissolved in about 2 tbsp. water
1/4 cup olive oil
Toppings
What you'll do:
In a stand mixer bowl (or in a big bowl with a spoon and your hands), place the yeast, sugar and water. stir quickly and briefly and let set for about 3 minutes. Some bubbles or foam should rise to the surface.
Turn the machine on and gradually add the flour. When you've got about 3 cups in, add the salt water and pour in the olive oil. Add more flour as needed until it's smooth.
Let kneed in the machine for about 5 minutes or about 10 minutes by hand.
Cover the dough ball with olive oil and let rest in a bowl covered with a clean dish towel for about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Grease a cookie sheet with some olive oil and press your dough onto it. You can make an oval or a rectangle. Reserve a very small handful if you want to make dividers. Roll them out with your hand to make long ropes and lay across your dough. Let rest for about 15 minutes. Walk your fingers along the dough to create little dimples.
Now you could easily pick 1 topping and do it for the whole loaf, but if you want to go 4 ways, get creative. Clockwise from the top right, I used olives, onions and garlic, next is pine nuts, next is tomatoes sliced with oregano and parmesan cheese, lastly I used an Italian herb blend of oregano and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle the whole thing with salt.
Once you've got it all assembled, bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
