Focaccia: Comfort Food

A bit down because of the Chocolate French Macaron disaster (read previous post), I decided to cheer myself up. Two weeks ago, I learned how to make Focaccia. I bake it regularly to keep a stock since it's very tasty and versatile; you can eat it by itself dipping in balsamic and olive oil, a sandwich bread or paired with a salad or a pasta dish.

Focaccia is an Italian oven-baked flat bread flavored with herbs and can be topped with various ingredients. It's a close relative of the Pizza, but both are not to be mistaken for the other. Pizza is a thin flat crust bread with a whole she-bang of toppings, sauce and cheese where it relies heavily to pull off its flavor. Focaccia is a thicker flat bread wherein the dough itself is infused with flavors of herbs and spices. Despite the difference, you can definitely make a Pizza out of a Focaccia dough, a double treat!

A basic Focaccia dough mixture would be flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water and olive oil. Adding in herbs, spices and even vegetables of your liking into the mixture would create the flavors of the Focaccia while it bakes.

Below is a picture of the Focaccia I just made. It's a bit thick, but if you want a thinner crustier Focaccia, you'll just need to spread the dough flatter on the baking sheet. Before popping it into the oven, I brushed the dough with pureed onions-garlic-butter-olive oil mixture, topped with chopped olives and flax seeds for added flavor and texture; not mentioning the herbs and spices I already kneaded within the dough.

Warm and comforting: I'm biased to Italian flavors.

HERBY FOCACCIA

INGREDIENTS

Dough:

1 tbsp and 1 scant tsp of active dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tsp sugar

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp ground oregano

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Topping:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp butter

4 cloves of garlic

1 small onion

1 tbsp flax seeds

5-6 pcs of pitted black olives, chopped/sliced

PROCEDURE

1. Proof the yeast by mixing it with sugar and water in a bowl. Leave it for at least 10 minutes or until you see foam/bubbles forming and smells like bread. If there are no foaming or bubbling, either the yeast is no longer usable or your water is too hot.

2. In a separate larger bowl, sift together the dry ingredients remaining in the dough recipe.

3. Pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil into the flour mixture, combine the ingredients together until the dough is workable for kneading.

4. On a lightly floured flat surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until elastic and smooth.

5. Place the dough in a large bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm dark place for about 30 minutes or until dough size is doubled.

6. Once risen, punch the dough in the middle to let out air. Place it on a greased baking sheet/pan and pat it down to your preferred shape (circle or rectangular) and thickness. Let rest for another 15 minutes in a warm place. Preheat the oven at this time to 425F.

7. In a blender/processor: puree together garlic, onion and butter, pouring in olive oil to loosen the mixture.

8. Prepare the dough for baking by brushing on the garlic-onion mixture with a pastry brush. Sprinkle over the flax seeds and olives.

9. Bake for about 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the dough.

Cut into serving pieces, can be toasted if you want a little more crunch. I would recommend eating it with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dip to feel like you're in your own little Italian cottage. :)