Focaccia

Focaccia is one of the most popular and most ancient of the breads of Italy and is very easy to make.Focaccia is my favourite type of Italian bread. I’s not too hard to make and you can take it in loads of different directions by changing the toppings. I’ve gone for good old garlic and rosemary here but you could try combos like cherry tomatoes and basil or three cheese. Just keep it light and you’ll be onto a winner.Basic focaccia dough requires only five ingredients, flour, water, olive oil, salt, and yeast. A simple focaccia dough lends itself to so many variations that once you master the dough, your options are endless. You can flavor the focaccia dough itself, add a myriad of different seasonal toppings both sweet and savory, create a crisp crusted focaccia that is great for dipping or spreading with creamy toppings, or make a thicker crusted focaccia that is perfect to use for sandwiches or panini. This easy flat bread is also a great option for novice bread bakers as it can be prepared easily and does not require any fancy shaping.

Ingredients:

For the focaccia dough
2  cups – All purpose flour  (Maida)
1 ¼  tsp dry yeast or ½ teaspoon Instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk (at room temperature)
¼ cup just-warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil

For the topping

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp mixed herbs – oregano,basil,rosemary and garlic powder
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
¼ tsp salt
One tomato sliced
One capsicum sliced
Cotton cheese thin sliced
Button mushroom thin sliced

Method :

1. Prove the yeast. Add the sugar to ¼ cup of warm water. Mix well. The water has to be just the right temperature- not too hot because that will kill the yeast. Add the yeast and rest covered for 10-15 minutes. The yeast should froth like soapy bubbles. If it doesn’t, throw the mix and start afresh.

2. In a big bowl, take the flour and salt.Mix.Once the yeast has bloomed, add it to the flour and knead the dough with the buttermilk. It will be sticky and it is meant to be like that
Add the Olive oil and knead for another 10 minutes. You will have a soft and manageable dough now.

3. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with kitchen towel and rest for 4 to 5 hours. The dough should double up. The time actually depends on the weather conditions-if very hot, it doubles sooner than the 1 ½ hours. This is the first prove.

4. Remove from the bowl once the dough is doubled and gently knock out the air.Roll it out into a square or circle as desired and place on to a greased baking dish. This amount of dough will give two regular sized focaccias.
Cover with kitchen towel taking care that they do not touch the top of the bread. Leave to rise again for about 45 minutes. This is the second prove.

5. Make dimples on the surface of the bread, gently with your fingertip, so that you don’t deflate it. Spread olive oil generously, arrange tomato and capsicum slices, cottage cheese and mushroom slices over the top and sprinkle some salt, black pepper and herb spice mix.

6. Place it into the microwave for 45 min at grill position, till the top browns.

7. Now grate some cheddar cheese on it and serve hot with schewzan sauce.

Enjoy the flavor of Italy… 🙂