I am a definite newbie in making bread, but I found this recipe to be just a Great Focaccia Recipe! If I can make a great-tasting focaccia my first time jumping into making bread, you most certainly can. Did it “dimple” as much as other recipes out there? It did not do as much as I wanted but I’m pretty sure it was due to the pan I used. I used a 9 X 13 baking pan, where the recipe I used was great for a 9 X 9 square pan. I have adjusted the recipe to ensure the ingredients work for the larger pan.
My first focaccia on the left-not much dimpling My new and improved focaccia on the right-plenty of dimpling
UPDATE:
I changed my recipe to accommodate the 9 X 13 baking pan. There was a lot more “dimpling”. Had a good amount of “jiggling”. So before I get too carried away with all my descriptive words for my focaccia and start getting accused of a less-than-savory conversation. (Oops, maybe savory is the wrong word, because savory is a good thing, right? ) Anyway, the focaccia turned out much better and I was very happy with the results.
Even though I had some small technical issues making my first focaccia the taste and flavor were good. With the adjustments the focaccia was perfect!
Use your focaccia to make sandwiches if you are looking for ways to enjoy your new recipe. Check here for my recipe for making a New Orleans Muffuletta. Typically a muffuletta is made with a round bread. Just make your new recipe in a round baking pan that is 9 to 10 inches round and you are ready to make one of the best sandwiches of your life!
What Do I Need to Make the Recipe
Most of the things you need you probably already have in your pantry. However, I did buy some additional tools knowing my next step was to make some sourdough bread. Breadproofing containers, Bannetons, dough whisk, Sourdough starter jars. Oh my! What did I get myself into? This journey into bread-making is going to be fun. I Will update you when I start my sourdough adventure!
Make sure you have a proper Breadproofing container. If your dough doesn’t prove correctly, you will have denser bread that won’t rise. Make sure that your bowl is big enough for your bread to rise. As a tip, I’ve heard of people using shower caps to cover your bowl if you don’t have a top. I have not tried it but it sounds perfect!
Make sure you use a 9 X 13 baking pan for my recipe. This provides the right amount of dough for you to get the right volume of dough to dimple.
Final Note: This is a high-hydration dough. It will be “shaggy”. This term refers to the initial, rough, and sticky stage of dough just after mixing, before kneading or folding has developed the gluten. Don’t be scared! It all works and becomes nice and smooth as the gluten develops.
I hope you enjoy your journey into making bread as much as I do. Please leave comments below and as always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!
Just a Great Focaccia
6 – 10
servings40
minutes2
hours18
minutes55
minutesIngredients
600 g Bread flour
480 g Water – Divided amount of water (60 g & 420 g)
7 g Active Dry Yeast (5 g if using instant yeast)
10 g Salt
2 tsp Sugar
15 g Olive oil
- Optional Toppings
Garlic oil
Finishing salt
- Garlic-Rosemary Oil
2 Sprigs Rosemary (remove rosemary from the sprigs)
10 Garlic cloves
1 Cup Olive oil
Directions
- Day 1
- Activate your yeast in warm water between 105° and 110°F (7 g of yeast; 60 g water). Add sugar and stir until all combined. It will take approximately 10 – 15 minutes to activate. It’s ready when frothy.
- Mix 340 g of water, flour, salt, olive oil, and activated yeast into a mixing bowl with a top. Make sure the flour is fully mixed with the other ingredients and the mix is fully hydrated
- Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold the dough; pull and stretch the dough from one side over to the other side. Turn your bowl 90°. Repeat 3 more times. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Check out the video down below after the directions on how to do the various folding techniques.
- Do a coil fold; turn your bowl 90° and do another coil fold. Repeat 2 more times. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat step 5. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Total time resting to this point: 30 after Step 2; 30 after Step 4; 30 after Step 5; and 30 after Step 6. Total 120 minutes before overnight fermentation.
- Place covered dough in the fridge for overnight fermentation. (up to 48 hours) I did my overnight fermentation for 16 hours.
- Day 2
- Remove rosemary from the sprigs and place on a cutting board. Give the rosemary a rough chop and set aside.
- Garlic Oil
- Add the garlic slices and oil to a small saucepan. Place the pan on the stove over low heat. Bring to a slow simmer. Cook for approximately 30 minutes till the garlic becomes golden and soft. Halfway through, add chopped rosemary to the saucepan and stir.
- When almost done, take the back of a spoon and mash the garlic. Give it a good stir and continue to cook till done
- Baking the Bread
- Preheat oven to 445°
- Oil your 9 x 13 baking pan completely. (In addition, you can place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan if you want to ensure that your bread does not stick to the bottom when you try to pull the bread out of the pan.) Transfer the dough from the fridge to the pan. Let the dough rest and proof until it almost doubles in size. That could take 2 to 4 hours
- Spread the rosemary, garlic, and olive oil mix over the dough. When dimpling the dough, I learned that you need to dimple with the thought in mind of pushing the garlic and rosemary deep in the dimpled pockets. This will keep the rosemary and garlic from burning during the bake. Add any other toppings you desire.
- Bake bread at 445° for about 20 – 25 minutes. Bread will be done when the internal temperature of the bread is between 190° and 210°.
- Pull the bread from the oven before the bread reaches the perfect internal temperature. Approximately 180°
- Brush some of the garlic oil on the bread. Sprinkle bread with finishing salt if desired.
- Place the bread back in the oven.
- Pull the bread out of the pan when done and let the bread rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
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