Focaccia

Makes two big loaves about (35 x 35 x 2.5) cm or a dozen or so smaller loaves as desired. A very fast rising recipe - start mixing to out of the oven in under two hours on a warm day. Don't know any other recipe that manages to stuff so much olive oil into a loaf of bread.


Quantity
Ingredient
1/3 cup
Olive Oil
4 cloves
Garlic, finely chopped or crushed
4 teaspoons
Active Dried Yeast
2 tablespoons
Sugar
2 cups
Warm Water
1 teaspoon
Salt
200 ml
Olive Oil
5½ cups
Hi-Grade Flour
1 tablespoon
Rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon
Rock Salt granules

Method

  1. Combine crushed/finely chopped garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil and leave to steep. (If you like dipping bread into this mixture, double the quantity.)

  2. Combine yeast and warm water to dissolve, add remaining oil, sugar, and table salt.

  3. Add 3 cups of flour. Mix until beginning to come away from the edge of the bowl, then add remaining flour and knead until smooth and elastic, (or use the dough hooks on your mixer.)

  4. Oil a large bowl and place the dough in it to double in bulk in a warm draught-free spot. If the yeast is fresh it will do this fairly promptly . Punch down the dough and leave to rise again.

  5. From here, we can make two large loaves, or eight to twelve "personal" loaves, or a bowlful of dipping chunks.

Two Large Loaves

  1. Oil two oven trays, and dividing the dough in half, use your hands to flatten each piece of dough over most of the surface of its tray.

  2. Preheat oven to 190° C (375° F)

  3. Brush liberally with olive oil and garlic mixture, sprinkle on chopped rosemary and rock salt, and leave to rise again until doubled in thickness. Do not worry about the pools of olive oil - they will disappear during cooking. Place trays one above the other in the centre of the oven and change positions half way through.

  4. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until golden and crisp top and bottom.

  5. Eat as soon as warm, dipped in remains of the olive oil and garlic.

8-12 Small Loaves

  1. Oil a couple of oven trays.

  2. Divide the dough into eight to twelve portions, roll out to about a centimetre thick, place on the trays, and leave to rise a little.

  3. Preheat the oven to 190C (375F)

  4. Dimple the loaves flat with your fingers and brush liberally with the olive oil and garlic mixture. Sprinkle with rock salt and chopped rosemary. Do not worry about the pools of olive oil - they will disappear during cooking. Place trays one above the other in the centre of the oven and change positions half way through.

  5. Bake until top tray begins to show first brown, then switch trays until the other tray shows golden brown on top. This will take a little less time than the large loaves.

  6. Eat as soon as warm, dipped in the remains of the olive oil and garlic, or whatever else you have around.

Further option: Crusty Dipping Bread

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Place 2 oven trays in the oven to heat up.

  2. Melt about 75g of butter, and have a pastry brush handy.

  3. Divide the dough into 16 pieces, roll each into a ball, and leave for ten minutes.

  4. Then roll each one out to 5mm thickness or less, and stack on a plate, dusting each one lightly with flour to prevent sticking.

  5. Remove tray from oven, brush with melted butter, place four flats on it and brush these with melted butter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and place in bottom of oven.

  6. Repeat with second tray. Place in top of oven.

  7. When top tray shows signs of browning, switch trays, and continue cooking until the bread on the second tray begins to go brown.

  8. Remove from oven, and allow to cool. Cut into 5cm squares to use for dips instead of chips.

  9. Repeat with remaining flats.

 

 

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