Tag Archives: focaccia

Focaccia, but make it GLUTEN FREE

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I’ve tried a multitude of gluten free focaccia recipes, with a variety of success.  This one is exactly what I was looking for, even hard to believe it is gluten free!  This is also amazing as it doesn’t require any special equipment, or method, just a few minutes of prep and the time to let it sit.

  • 500 grams warm water (somewhere around 110 degrees is perfect)
  • 10 grams active yeast
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • See Step 1 below first!
  • 560 grams Caputo Fioreglut Flour – NO SUBSTITUTIONS PLEASE
  • 24 grams sugar
  • 8 grams kosher or sea salt
  • 24 grams good quality olive oil
  1. Stir warm water, sugar and yeast together.  Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes or so.
  2. In a large bowl combine Caputo flour, sugar, salt and stir to combine.  Once your yeast is active and foamy, stir that into your flour mixture with the olive oil.  Stir only until well combined, you really do not need to knead!

In a large bowl drizzle about 10 grams of olive oil around the bowl, then drop in your focaccia mixture and top it with another 5 grams of oil.  All this oil will get absorbed into the dough and gluten free bread does require this to give you that classic focaccia flavour, and the sugar helps it to brown.

COVER WELL AND PLACE IN THE FRIDGE FOR A MINIMUM OF

8 HOURS AND UP TO 48

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP, IT WILL GIVE YOU THE FLAVOUR

AND TEXTURE YOU WANT

Take the dough out of the fridge about 2 hours before you want to bake it, and oil a 9 x 12 baking dish or pan. Tip the dough out into the pan and gently stretch it to fill the container.  Don’t worry it it doesn’t quite reach, as it rises and warms up it should.  Cover and allow to rest in a draft free area for at least an hour, check to see if it has risen and filled the pan.Your dough might need anywhere from 1-2 hours to full rise and get fluffy.  After an hour, preheat your oven to 425  F. so that you are sure it is up to temperature before you bake the focaccia. 

Toppings make the focaccia!  I love to dimple the top, drizzle olive oil over, sprinkle with garlic, rosemary and flaky salt, but I’ve also added sun dried tomatoes, olives, and created pretty designs with herbs and vegetables – you do whatever you feel like.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, checking at 25 minutes.  I usually like to do a quick check with a thermometer, the internal temperature should be about 200 degrees F. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes before taking it out, and will taste best if it sits for another 10 before cutting into it.

Only needed a small loaf today so this is half the recipe.
Felt like focaccia muffins, so we made these in a muffin tin – crispy edges!

I’m not sure what it is with Caputo Fiorglut Flour, but it is the only one that I get this result with for focaccia. It isn’t easy to get for me (Vernon BC) so I order it online. Pricey yes, but the pleasure Stella gets when she has soft fluffy bread is worth it for all of us.

Quick Focaccia

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There is something about making breads that just feels like a win.  Focaccia always does that!  The very best focaccia recipes allow for the dough to rest anywhere from hours to days.  If you are like me, some days you are driving home from work thinking focaccia would really boost dinner TODAY.  Not 3 days from now.  This recipe is for those days.   If you’ve got a little over an hour, you’ve got enough time to pull this off – and trust me, it’s easy.  No intensive kneading or stand mixer necessary!

  • 2 Tbso olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp fresh herbs – I used basil, parsley, rosemary, oregano and thyme. minced

Mix well and if it looks a little herb heavy, add a bit more olive oil. Set aside.

  • 3/4 cup warm water (the perfect temperature for blooming yeast is between 105-115)
  • 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (1 pack)
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

Top with flaky sea salt and more fresh rosemary.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Proof yeast and sugar in 3/4 cup warm water – 105-115 degrees F until foamy and active.
  • In a bowl, combine flour, salt.
  • Add in yeast mixture & olive oil, and mix to get it all together.  You may need to add a couple tablespoons more warm water.  You want this to be slightly sticky.
  • Cover and allow dough to rise for around 30 minutes.  The time isn’t as important as that you need to let the dough to pretty much double in size.
  • Add 1 -2 tbsp  olive oil into small baking vessel – either  9 x 7 inch sheet pan, or this also works well in an 8 x 8 square baking pan. You want a fair bit of oil here, rub it all around the sides of the pan as well.
  • Add dough and stretch to fit pan, if dough springs back, let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes and try again.  The rest helps the gluten to relax.
  • Once dough has been stretched enough to fit the baking sheet, allow to rest (covered) for 30 minutes.  Honestly, do whatever time you have – I find this to be fairly forgiving.
  • Dampen your fingers and dimple the dough like you are playing a piano.
  • Drizzle herbed olive oil over dimpled dough and allow it to fill in the dimples, I like to be generous with the herb oil mixture.
  • Sprinkle on some flaky sea salt and more fresh rosemary that isn’t all minced up.
  • Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Once out of the oven, allow to rest on a cooling rack to keep the bottom crusty as well.

So many ways you can serve this;

  • Use it as an appetizer with a charcuterie board
  • Fresh out of the oven with simple oil and vinegar
  • Try it with your best olive oil and my dukka recipe, (If you’ve never tried dukka you are in for a treat!)
  • Completes a soup or salad meal
It’s October and this is what my herb garden still looks like!
Ready to go, and this herby oil smells so fresh – today I added in some roasted garlic.
Ready for the oven – love the way those little dimples fill up, I think those pockets of oil help crisp up the top.
You just know how good your house smells – it’s ready to dunk in your soup.

Crazy Good NO Knead Focaccia

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No Knead Focaccia 2

You are going to love this … soft, chewy, and the best focaccia you could possible imagine.  Can’t you just smell it from the photo?  Yum.

  • 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (or 1 pack)
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – divided
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • flaky sea salt
  • 2-4 garlic cloves

Whisk 1¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.), 2 tsp. honey, and 2½ cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl and let sit 5 minutes (it should foam or at least get creamy; if it doesn’t your yeast is dead and you should start again—check the expiration date!).

Add 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour and 1 Tbsp. kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.

Pour 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into a big bowl that will fit in your refrigerator. This puppy is going to rise! Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a silicone lid or plastic wrap and chill until dough is doubled in size (it should look very bubbly and alive), at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. If you’re in a rush, you can also let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours.

Generously butter a 13×9″ baking pan, for thicker focaccia that’s perfect for sandwiches, or an 18×13″ rimmed baking sheet, for focaccia that’s thinner, crispier, and great for snacking. The butter may seem superfluous, but it’ll ensure that your focaccia doesn’t stick. Pour 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into center of pan. Keeping the dough in the bowl and using a fork in each hand, gather up edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat process. Do this 2 more times; you want to deflate dough while you form it into a rough ball.

Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over and turn dough to coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot (like near a radiator or on top of the fridge or a preheating oven) until doubled in size, at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours.

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°. To see if the dough is ready, poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn’t ready. (If at this point the dough is ready to bake but you aren’t, you can chill it up to 1 hour.) Lightly oil your hands. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill (you probably won’t need to do this if using a baking pan). Dimple focaccia all over with your fingers, like you’re aggressively playing the piano, creating very deep depressions in the dough (reach your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan). Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.

No Knead Focaccia 3

Rising with bits of oil throughout, this little fella has filled the bowl!

No Knead Focaccia 4

It’s pretty darn cold outside today, but this is sitting with the sun streaming in the window and the radiator near …. it rose beautifully.

No Knead Focaccia 1

Just look, 2 hours later it is fluffy and puffed right to the brim.

No Knead Focaccia 5

This is the part where you could get as interesting as you like …. add olives, or rosemary, or little tomato slices ….

I stopped before this last step, just because I wasn’t sure the 12, 9 & 6 year olds at the table wanted the garlic …. but next time!!!

Hold off on this last step until you’re ready to serve the focaccia: Melt 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Peel and grate in 2–4 garlic cloves with a Microplane (use 2 cloves if you’re garlic-shy or up to 4 if you love it). Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until garlic is just lightly toasted, 30–45 seconds. (Or, if you prefer raw garlic to toasted garlic, you can grate the garlic into the hot butter, off heat, then brush right away.)

Brush garlic-butter all over focaccia and slice into squares or rectangles.

Focaccia Art 1

Too much time on my hands …. the Covid- 19 Coronavirus has us all hunkered down in our homes …. look what happens when you can’t go anywhere …

Focaccia Art 2

I was afraid how things would look after baking, but it’s pretty good!

I’ve reposted this from Bon Appetit “Basically” as part of their baking series, it is amazing!!!

 

Four Star Focaccia

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I would give it 5 stars, but I am well known for being humble ….

hot focaccia with fresh rosemary, carmelized red onions, garlic slices - topped with maldon sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

hot focaccia with fresh rosemary, carmelized red onions, garlic slices – topped with maldon sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

  • 2 tsp rapid rising dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tbsp coarse salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

This recipe is designed for a standing mixer – but you can easily adapt it to do by hand.

Warm the bowl of your standing mixer by letting it sit filled with warm water for a few minutes.  Drain, put in the 1 cup warm water, add 2 tbsp sugar, stir well and add in the yeast.  Give a light stir and let sit for at least 3 minutes, until you see the yeast starting to foam.  Turn on the stand mixer – low setting, and dissolve the salt in a cup with 2 tbsp hot water – when dissolved add to yeast mixture with the olive oil.  Gradually – in a steady but slow stream – add the flour.  Start with 3 1/2 cups of flour, and add a wee bit more if it is too sticky.  Once the dough is holding together, turn the mixer up to medium and allow it to knead for 10 minutes.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and hand knead it a few times, until you have a smooth, soft, pliable dough.  Grease a bowl lightly, turn the dough to coat and allow to rise in a warm place – covered with a damp tea towel or saran.  When it has doubled in size (aprox 45 minutes) turn onto a clean surface and stretch it lightly to be about 1/2 in thick and an oblong shape.  Allow to rest for a few minutes, and then put that on to an oiled baking sheet (I like clay).  Cover with saran and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Give the dough a gentle massage with good quality olive oil, and with your fingertips gently press indentations in the surface, then cover with seasonings to complement the rest of your meal:

fresh rosemary

sliced garlicP1100268

carmelized red onions

fresh herbs

parmesan cheese

Then sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and large flake salt.

For this batch I doubled the recipe, and stretched it to be about 3/4-1 inch high before allowing it to rest. 

Bake at 400 for around 15-20 minutes.

This makes the best focaccia I have ever had – the dough is a fantastic texture, and gets so nice and crispy on the outside with the olive oil coating.  Use your imagination with toppings, and it will soon be a hit in your house too.  So easy to make!

Ready for the oven – this one is to go with Cacio el Pepe pasta tonight …. it is studded throughout with green onions and fresh Kampot pepper, then dusted with more green onions, feta, tomatoes and fresh cracked Kampot pepper.