Blitz Bread: No-Fuss Focaccia

This is a simple focaccia bread recipe from one of my personal favorites, the King Arthur Flour company. The recipe calls for Pizza Seasoning, which to be honest I have never used; instead I just added a mix of basil, rosemary, and a dash of garlic salt. And sadly, when I was making this bread forgot to poke the risen dough with my fingers (giving it the focaccia bread look), which is quite fun I think - pushing your fingers into soft dough and watching it fill back in.

The end result, was a very soft, flavorful bread that worked really well as a side to the Pasta e Fagioli (soup) I made the same night. As a side note, you could really add any combination of herbs and spices to flavor this No-Fuss Focaccia to pair with whatever soup or pasta dish you make.

Blitz Bread: No-Fuss Focaccia
Recipe from kingarthurflour.com
Pictures by Caroline

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
1/4 cup Vermont cheese powder, optional
Pizza Seasoning, optional

Directions:
1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.*
2) Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.
4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.
6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.
7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
8) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*As you can see from the pictures, I decided to make my bread in 2-8x8 pans instead of one 9x13. I cooked it for a bit less time, just watching for the golden brown top. It turned out well and provided a loaf for two seperate meals.

Rosemary and Sea Salt Focaccia

This focaccia mixes the flavors of olive oil, sea salt, rosemary, and red onion.


A focaccia is a type of Italian flat bread, and is made in a similar fashion to other breads, meaning you still get to punch the dough down (there is something that is so enjoyable to me about punching down the risen dough).

Once you add all the toppings to this bread you get to put your fingers in it, literally! Try other toppings too, such as red ripe cherry tomatoes and basil.

This bread is great as a side to many types of pasta or with a green salad. It is also great dipped in an olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing.

Rosemary and Sea Salt Focaccia
Adapted from Classic Vegetarian Cooking by Linda Fraser
Pictures by Caroline

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
3 tbsp olive oil
½ small red onion
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp coarse sea salt

1. In a small bowl mix ¼ lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar; let yeast proof (foam) for 10 minutes.
2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, add salt. Mix in 2 tbsp olive oil, remaining ¾ cup lukewarm water, and yeast mixture. If mixture seems dry, add more water.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Punch down dough and knead for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Roll out dough until about ½ inch thick and transfer to a greased baking sheet or baking stone. (I cut the dough into a rectangle, or you can leave it round.) Brush the dough with the remaining oil.
5. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425° F. Halve the onion and slice into thin slices. Sprinkle the sea salt and rosemary onto the dough and add onion slices. Using your fingers, make deep indentations in the dough. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Serve warm either plain or with an olive oil/balsamic vinegar mixture.

-Caroline