Fabulous Focaccia

It’s January 16th and already I am so so over Minnesota weather - complete with ice dams, rain, snow, and ice, you name it we’ve had it. And if the weather is not enough, the refrigerator in our bar area died - and I didn’t find it until things had gone south. I had to toss all of my pesto, some apple butter, and part of this year's tomato sauce - ugh. The good news is the new fridge will be here on Monday.

On Sunday we had Dan’s dad and a friend over for dinner. I’ll start by saying my father-in-law is the easiest person to have over for dinner; he’ll eat pretty much anything, never complains, and is always complimentary and grateful - you can’t ask for an easier guest. 

We had some turkey in the freezer leftover from Christmas dinner and some butternut squash to go with it. I added a salad, some onion gravy, and garlic, rosemary, and thyme focaccia. 

I found a recipe that mixed everything together in a single bowl (as opposed to blooming the yeast/sugar first) and I decided to give it a try. After an hour of rising, which was what the recipe called for, it was still sad and lonely. I decided to turn on the oven and let it rise on top and after an hour it was ready to bake. I topped it with minced garlic and fresh rosemary and thyme from my indoor garden and baked it for about 35 minutes. 

As you can see I tried a little corner before Dan took the photo - it smelled so good, I couldn't help myself!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, to drizzle onto the pan

Dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water

3T olive oil

1 1/4 t salt

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant yeast or active dry yeast

Toppings:

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped oregano

Instructions:

Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9" x 13" pan.

Combine all of the Dough ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise in a warm place for at least 1.5 hours.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger. 

Drizzle dough with olive oil and add toppings. 

Bake @ 375 for approximately 30 - 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Turn bread out on a rack and cut it into pieces - serve warm or at room temperature.