Friday, March 7, 2014

Easy Rosemary Focaccia

Somehow, we keep running out of bread in this house. Z has a breakfast sandwich almost every morning, and nine times out of 10, I have a sandwich for lunch.

But with a slew of bridal showers, weddings, and trips happening over the next few months, I'm trying to pinch every penny I can. So when we ran out of bread yet again last week, I decided to make my own.

Easy Rosemary Focaccia | The Economical Eater

I'm not a huge fan of labor-intensive and/or time-consuming recipes, so when I found this recipe for Easy Rosemary Focaccia, I knew I had found a winner. But since I am currently obsessed with our new cast-iron skillet, I wanted to make the bread in that - and I wanted to make it extra thick, because that's how I prefer my focaccia. Topped with some salty fleur de sel, herbal rosemary, and spicy crushed red pepper flakes, this ended up being one successful and yummy loaf of bread.

Easy Rosemary Focaccia | The Economical Eater

Easy Rosemary Focaccia
Yields: 1 loaf (4 giant slices/8 smaller slices)
Adapted from TheKitchn.com
-1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
-1 3/4 cups warm water
-4 cups all-purpose flour
-2 teaspoons salt
-4 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
-2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh rosemary
-Several pinches of fleur de sel (or sea salt, whichever you prefer)
-1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
1.) In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit until foamy (about 5 minutes).
2.) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, knead the dough for 5-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Add the yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Mix until a rough ball of dough forms, about 1 minute. Remove dough from the bowl. It should be moist but not too sticky. Form it into a ball. 
3.) Add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil to a large bowl. Put in the ball of dough and turn it so it is coated on all sides. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place it in a warm place to double in bulk, about 2 hours.
4.) Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil onto the cast-iron pan and rub it over the bottom and sides. Punch down the dough and place the dough in the pan. Using your fingertips, coax and stretch the dough to cover the bottom of the pan; it may not reach all the way to the edges. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave in a warm place to rest, about 30-40 minutes. (You can also use a 13 x 9 baking pan or even a baking sheet for this, if you'd prefer a thinner bread).
5.) While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven. 
6.) When the focaccia has puffed up in the pan a little, sprinkle the rosemary evenly over the surface. Using your fingertips, dimple (make shallow indentations) the surface of the focaccia all over. Drizzle about 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the loaf, so the oil pools in the indentations here and there. Sprinkle salt and crushed red pepper flakes over the loaf.
7.)  Place in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 375 degrees. Bake about 20-25 minutes, checking after 15 minutes. The focaccia is ready when it's golden brown.
8.) Remove bread from oven. Using a spatula, remove the bread from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool slightly. Focaccia can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

*One note: I find fresh bread only lasts at room temperature for a few days. After three days, store leftovers in fridge or freezer, depending on how fast you plan to eat the remaining slices.

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Easy Rosemary Focaccia | The Economical Eater

I know you're thinking: Wait...I thought you didn't like labor-intensive recipes? Even though this recipe has a lot of steps, it was super easy to make. The hardest part was smelling it baking in the oven and not being able to eat it yet!

One reason I love thicker focaccia is so you can slice each piece in half lengthwise and make sandwiches out of them...which is exactly what we did one day. (The panini press we got for our wedding made the bread extra crispy and tasty).

Easy Rosemary Focaccia | The Economical Eater

This recipe made a delightfully airy and flavorful focaccia that didn't require 20 hours of kneading, rising, etc. I will definitely be making this again (especially since this week's supply of bread is gone already).

What's your favorite kind of bread to make at home?


7 comments:

  1. I try not to make rosemary foccacia anymore...its so good, i end up eating the whole thing as soon as it comes out of the oven! ;)

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    1. It was SO hard for me to not eat a slice as soon as it came out of the oven!

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  2. ooh, i love rosemary and fresh bread! this looks fabulous :)

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  3. This bread looks great and the sandwich looks especially good! I made a really labor-intensive focaccia that I loved, but I need to keep this one in mind for when I want focaccia more quickly!

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    1. I was definitely surprised at how well it turned out given how quickly it took! It's definitely a good go-to for when you have limited time.

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  4. This looks so fabulous, perfect for dipping in some nice olive oil!

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