Focaccia

 

When I was formulating the list of breads to be baked, I was wondering what I would bake for F since I already had written about the most popular ones – Fougasse and Focaccia. Then when I actually checked my blog, I realised that I had not blogged about Focaccia. I was shocked, to put it mildly, that I had not written about this one in the multiple times that I made it over the past 2 years. The good news is that I got a bake for ‘F’ and the bad news is that the husband has been mercilessly teasing me while munching on the delicious focaccia that I baked.

The thing is that somehow, I miss out on the most popular item in any of my interests. I love watching movies but I missed watching The Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump. Exactly! The two of the biggest hits, Oscar winners and classics. I finally watched them few years ago, thanks to the husband who was laughing throughout. I love to read books but again, I am yet to read The Catcher in the Rye. Can you believe that? Truth be told, even people who have read only 2 books in their life have read this one. So now this has happened on the blogging front too. Tragic!

Focaccia, as is known, originated in Italy and is similar to pizza. The word orignates from the Roman / Latin words ‘panis focacius’. Panis means bread and focacius means fireplace. This is because, in the Roman times, focaccia was baked on the ashes of the fire and not on the tray above the fire. It is similar to pizza in some ways but different in others. It mainly differs from pizza is that pizza dough uses lesser yeast and salt as compared to focaccia. The additional yeast gives focaccia the capacity to absorb lot of olive oil. It does not have too many toppings and is generally restricted to salt, pepper and rosemary though nowadays there are other toppings added to make it more flavorful.

One thing we need to be careful while baking this dish with onions is that the onions tend to blacken and spoil the taste. So it is essential to keep a watchful eye on the oven and remove it before any significant damage is done. Now on to the recipe –

Country – Italy

Makes a 12″ focaccia

Recipe from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

WHAT WE NEED

Lukewarm water                     1 cup + 6 tbsp

Instant yeast                              1 1/2 tsp

Salt                                               2 tsp

Sugar                                           1 1/2 tsp

Olive oil                                       2 tbsp

All purpose flour                      3 1/4 cups

Onion, small                               1/4

Extra Virgin Olive Oil               2 tbsp

Dried rosemary leaves             3/4 tsp

Salt & Pepper

 

WHAT TO DO

• Mix the yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil with water in a large bowl
• Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon till all the flour is mixed in
• Place the dough in a greased bowl
• Cover and allow the dough to rise and collapse or flatten on top, around 2 hours
• Refrigerate for atleast 3 hours and upto 5 days
• The dough can be used immediately after its rise but it is easier to handle it after refrigeration
• In a pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil and add finely sliced onions to it
• Saute the onion slices till they are softened but not browned
• Flatten the dough into a rectangle in a baking tray using your hands or a rolling pin to 1/2 – 3/4″
• Using your fingers, create indents in the dough at regular intervals
• Spread the onion slices over the dough leaving a 1″ border around the edges
• There should not be too many onions and the dough should be seen else it won’t brown properly and look pale
• Sprinkle the rosemary, salt and pepper on the dough
• Llightly drizzle some olive oil but not too much which will make the oil flow down the sides
• Set aside for 20 minutes
• Preheat the oven at 220C
• Bake for around 20 minutes or till the top browns nicely
• Cut into wedges and serve warm
• Enjoy!

 

Notes

1. The extra virgin olive oil can be replaced with olive oil
2. I added some olives because I wanted to finish them off. You can add them if you like

This is my post for the Mega Marathon for the letter ‘F’.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 75

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