Tag Archives: quick focaccia bread

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.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

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Rosemary Focaccia 2

Crackly crust, soft and delicate inside, this focaccia is amazing, but even more so considering how quickly it comes together.

I love my own focaccia bread recipe …. but it takes a few hours to complete.  Tonight I was planning on making a sun dried tomato pasta with chicken and spinach, and had the brilliant idea of making a focaccia to go with it …. so I typed in quick focaccia, and this came up.  What a stroke of luck for us!  Thanks go directly to “flavour the moments” for this recipe.  Head’s up … it makes a very small loaf – just enough for two people.  Of course I looked at that, and thought it wasn’t enough for 2, so I did another one.  That’s just the way I roll.  So, now we have leftovers.  That’s perfect.

INGREDIENTS:

  • ¾ cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 10 seconds and stir — it should be just lukewarm)
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons yeast (1/4 ounce package such as Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise)
  • 5 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, divided (plus more for sprinkling the dough)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan (optional)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried, divided
  • flaky sea salt for topping, optional

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Place the warm water and sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can use an electric handheld mixer as well). Stir well to combine.
  2. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir just a bit. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
  3. Turn the mixer on low speed, and add 1 cup of the flour and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and mix just until combined.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of the fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried and mix until combined.
  5. With the mixer on low, gradually add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour, then add just enough of the remaining 1/4 cup until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl (you may not need it all).
  6. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease a cast iron skillet or 8 – 9″ cake pan with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil.
  7. Lightly flour a surface with flour. Remove the dough and place onto the floured surface and sprinkle the top lightly with flour as well.  Gently shape the dough into a flat disk and place in the prepared skillet.
  8. Gently press the dough evenly in the bottom of the skillet and 1″ up the sides, then cover with a clean towel.
  9. TURN OFF THE OVEN and place the skillet in the oven for 20 minutes to rise.
  10. Remove the skillet from the oven and remove the towel. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  11. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, garlic, and remaining rosemary.
  12. Brush the olive oil mixture over the focaccia bread dough, then make indents over the top of the dough with your thumb.
  13. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven, and brush with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
  14. Cool slightly on a wire rack and serve!

Rosemary focaccia 1

Naturally I looked at the dough, once it came together …. and thought it wasn’t enough.  So I quickly put another loaf together … of course the first one would have been enough so now we have leftovers, which is just perfect.