Nancy Baker's Foccacia
"Here is my basic Foccacia recipe. You can add what you like to the dough, but rosemary is a must for me. Also lots of cheese. I grate my own parmesan for it. I've put in sun dried tomatoes, olives and other stuff when the mood hits me."
Equipment
- Jelly Roll Pan
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups warm water
- 1 pkg yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus some more for the top if you like
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- rosemary
- grated Parmesan cheese
- sun-dried tomatoes and whatever else the mood takes you (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the water, yeast and sugar and let it work its magic.
- Using a food mixer with a dough hook, put the flour, salt, ½ cup of olive oil and the yeast mixture in the bowl and knead it until its smooth. About halfway through your kneading, add rosemary and other additions you might have chosen. When you finish kneading, it should be soft but not too tacky.
- Let the dough rise.
- Then coat a jelly roll pan with the other ½ cup of olive oil. DO THIS because this is what makes it so tasty.
- Put the dough in the pan and start spreading it out and putting little holes in it with your fingers. This is the tedious part because it takes time to get it to the edges of the pan without it creeping back to the middle. Be sure to have lots of finger holes, even pretty sizeable ones for the second rise. They will fill in but leave it looking like Foccacia.
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. When it's ready (about an hour) put it in the oven after you've "dusted" the top with cheese, more rosemary (my preference), and a little salt (not too much!). Takes about 30 minutes. Wait until it cools a bit to cut it.
Notes
This recipe is sort of a suggestion thing. But the proportions for the flour and water are good ones. Don't be stingy with the olive oil and use good olive oil for the best taste.