Basic Focaccia and Variations

Basic Focaccia and Variations. Each of these recipes are made by hand with natural ingredients.

There’s nothing used that our great-grandparents couldn’t use 60 years ago. And since each recipe calls for ingredients you would normally have in your pantry, you’re only out a quarter or so each loaf.

Focaccia is a type of flat bread, kinda like a thick, dense pizza. Many of us know it best as an option when we’re ordering sandwiches from a local shop, but it’s way too easy to make at home to ever buy again.

In fact, it’s even easier than the very little bother oat bread. I guess you could call this the incredibly very little bother focaccia. Like pizza, focaccia is often topped with olive oil, seasonings and a sprinkle of cheese.

You can mop up tortilla soup with a nice thick slice of jalapeno cheddar, or you can slice a large piece of rosemary Parmesan in half and make a killer beef pesto Panini So.Good.So.Easy.

Basic Focaccia and Variations

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Yield: 18

Delicious homemade focaccia fresh from the oven in roughly 2 hours. Four delicious variations to accompany any dinner cuisine.

Ingredients

• 2¼ tsp yeast
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1⅓ cup warm water
• 3½ cups flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
• Sea salt for topping
• Herbs and Cheese for Topping (optional, see variations below)

Method

1. Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a large bowl or in a stand mixer and allow it to bloom, approximately 10 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and knead by hand or with a mixer until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces. Place each piece into an oiled 9″ x 9″ glass pan. Gently push and punch the round of dough so that it reaches each corner and edge of the pan. Repeat for the second pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Cover the dough with a towel and allow to rise is a warm place for 1 – 1½ hours.
5. Drizzle olive oil over the top of each loaf and gently spread using clean fingers or a brush to cover the entire surface. Add sea salt and any other desired toppings and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges and surface.
6. Remove pans from the oven; remove bread from the pans and allow to cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tip: Once the dough is mixed, it rises in the pan it will be baked in. Seemingly unimportant, but this means you can still use your mixing bowl while the dough rises! If I’m spending a good bit of time in the kitchen, I like to maximize it. Extra chopping, prepping future meals, baking ahead.

Having my mixing bowl available is HUGE. No longer does progress in the kitchen have to come to a halt because of a bowl!

This loaf as written is delicious, but just like the dinner rolls, you can tailor the recipe to suit your taste buds.

• Tomatoes & Olives – Add on top, cherry tomatoes cut in half and black olives
• Jalapeño Parmesan & Olives – before baking, top each loaf with 1-2 slices of fresh jalapeño pepper and 1/4 Tbsp of shredded Parmesan cheese and olives
• Garlic & Basil – top with chopped fresh or roasted garlic and a generous sprinkle of dried basil
• Cheddar – top each loaf with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar (sharp works best)
• Rosemary & Parmesan – top each loaf with shredded parmesan and a generous sprinkle of dried rosemary
• Jalapeño Cheddar – before baking, top each loaf with 1-2 slices of fresh jalapeño pepper and 1/4 Tbsp of shredded cheddar cheese
• Black & Blue – add 1 tsp of ground pepper into the dough and before baking, sprinkle the top of the bread with blue cheese and lots of freshly ground pepper