20 years ago, when we moved to Lincoln from Florence, Italy, the bread scene in Lincoln was pretty dismal (it has improved significantly since then). The only solution at that point, was for my husband to start making his own focaccia bread. And so he did! We soon became well-known amongst our new neighbors, who enjoyed the smell of freshly cooked bread that wafted out our windows.
We also became were automatically assigned "sandwich duty" for all of our kids' traveling tennis meets - so there were times we were making 7-10 pans of focaccia a week!
Needless to say, it is a staple at our table. We enjoy it with dinner, made into tasty croutons, for sandwiches and more. Over the years we have perfected the recipe and the best way to store leftover (if there is any)!
INGREDIENTS
4 1/4 cups of flour (we used Gold Medal Best for Bread)
2 tsps of dry yeast
1/2 tsp of salt (+ more after baked)
5 TBLS of olive oil
~ 1 3/4 warm water
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Add olive oil and 1 1/2 cups of the water.
As mixing add the rest of the water (if needed) until you have acquired the correct consistency. Dough should be soft, but not sticky.
Knead for at least 10 minutes.
Place dough in dish towel which has been sprinkled with flour, and set in warm spot for 1 hour.
Knead dough for 10-15 minutes.
Roll dough on slightly floured surface (large enough to fit pan).
Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13” pan with olive oil.
Place dough in pan ( I usually fold the dough into thirds to facilitate moving into the pan, and then open up and spread evenly across the pan).
Let rise for one hour in a dry, warm place, if you have the feature on your oven, put it in oven set to Proofing.
(Remove from oven if proofing) Preheat oven to 450.
When oven is ready make indentations in bread. cook for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes in the pan
While in pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and tilt pan so oilive oil reaches all areas.
Salt very generously all over.
Let cool for at least another 15 minutes
Slice and serve
STORAGE
Typcially we cut the focaccia into quarters and freeze 3 of the quarters in a ziplock bag after it has completely cooled. The focaccia just needs to be pulled out of the freezer and out of the ziplock bag at least 30 minutes prior to serving - and you don't need to do anything to it. It is ready to serve!
FOCACCIA SANDWICHES
Cut the focaccia into sandwich sized rectangles and then slice each rectangle horizontally. Fill with your favorite sandwich fillings. Our favorites are:
Sliced mozzarella and tomatoes, with a drizzle of olive oil and oregano
Sliced roasted turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and oregano
Comments