Grape Ricotta Breakfast Focaccia Recipes

GRAPE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, mix together flour and yeast. Add water and mix on medium speed until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until bubbling and doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Add salt; attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment and mix on low speed 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium and mix 30 seconds more (dough should be loose and sticky).
• Using a dough scraper, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold bottom edge of dough up toward center of dough and gently pat to deflate. Fold top edge down toward center, slightly overlapping bottom edge; pat gently, tapping off excess flour as you work (dough will be difficult to handle, but try not to incorporate too much flour). Gently transfer dough to a large bowl, seam-side down. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and repeat folding process. Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (425 degrees if using a convection oven) with rack in center lined with a pizza stone, for at least 45 minutes.
• Coat a 14-by-3-inch round cake pan with 1/3 cup oil; turn dough out into pan, coating with oil. With oiled fingertips, push dough out toward edges of pan. If dough starts to retract, cover with plastic and let stand 5 minutes, then continue until it reaches edges of pan. In a bowl, toss grapes with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; arrange evenly on top of dough, gently pressing to adhere. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand 45 minutes.
• Liberally sprinkle dough with flaky salt and sanding sugar. Dough should be well oiled; if necessary, drizzle with up to 2 tablespoons more oil.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bottom is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Immediately transfer focaccia to a wire rack. Drizzle with any oil remaining in pan; sprinkle again with more flaky salt and sanding sugar. Let cool slightly. Focaccia may be served warm or at room temperature.

GRAPE TOMATO AND OREGANO FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In large bowl, stir yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup of the water until blended. Let stand 10 minutes or until yeast is dissolved and foamy. Add remaining 2/3 cup water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon oregano. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of the flour, slowly adding additional flour as necessary to make dough easy to handle.
• Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with oil. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray; let rise in warm place 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Meanwhile, about 20 minutes before baking, place pizza stone or cookie sheet on oven rack. Heat oven to 425°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. On lightly oiled surface, pat dough to 14x9-inch oval. Place on paper-lined cookie sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray; let rise 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon oil and garlic. With fingertips, gently make 1/2-inch-deep depressions about 2 inches apart in dough. Brush with garlic-oil mixture; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon oregano. Sprinkle cheese over dough; top with tomatoes. Gently press tomatoes into dough. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide dough and parchment paper from cookie sheet onto pizza stone.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Cool on cooling rack, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or cool.

GRAPE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a small skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Stir in 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool.
• Place 3/4 cup (177 grams) lukewarm water (105 to 115 degrees) in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over it. Let it stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the olive oil mixture, 1 2/3 cups flour, cornmeal, 3 tablespoons (54 grams) sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir until a soft dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, or knead in a stand mixer with a dough hook attached, for about 5 minutes. If using the stand mixer, finish the dough by hand, on a floured surface, for 1 minute. Add more flour; it could need as much as another 1/4 cup (31 grams) if the dough feels very sticky (you want damp but not unworkable dough).
• Oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat it lightly with the oil. Cover the bowl with a dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm place, and let it rise until the dough has doubled, about 1 hour.
• Halve the grapes if they are large. If using Concord, pit them.
• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large cookie sheet or baking pan (11-inch by 17-inch) with some olive oil.
• Punch down the dough, then pat it into the pan, stretching into an oval about 3/8- to 1/2-inch thick - it should not fill the entire pan. Dimple the dough with your fingertips. Scatter the grapes and pine nuts, if using, over the dough, pressing them in lightly. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons (36 grams) sugar, 1 teaspoon rosemary, and flaky sea salt over the grapes. Drizzle all over with plenty of oil. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

RED GRAPE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• On the day or the night before, cut up 1 potato into quarters and boil it with its skin on until fork tender. Chill until ready to use, if making the night before.
• Warm together the potato and milk.
• Meanwhile, place the flour, salt, olive oil, and yeast in a mixing bowl with a dough hook making sure the yeast isn't touching the salt. Pour in the warmed milk and potato and mix on low for 6 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 1 hour or until double in bulk.
• Turn the mixer on to punch down the dough, then turn it out onto a flour work surface. Roll the dough into a flat rectangular sheet. Grease a sheet pan well with olive oil and transfer the dough to that pan. Continue to roll the dough into the corners of the pan to fit it exactly.
• Prick the dough all over then rub the surface with more olive oil. Dot the surface with grapes in even rows. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it reaches the top of the sheet pan.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in pan only a few minutes, then slide it out of the pan (steam gets trapped under the dough and can get soggy if you leave it in the pan too long). Cut into rectangular pieces and serve.

BREAKFAST FOCACCIA WITH GRAPES AND FIGS

Steps:

• To make the dough, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the olive oil and the salt. Whisk, then stir in the flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a soft dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and form it into a ball. Put the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, turning the dough to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Prepare a medium-hot fire (425°F) in a wood-fired oven or cooker.
• Lightly oil a 12 by 17-inch baking sheet. Place the dough on the pan and stretch to cover as much of the pan as possible. Dimple the top and stretch again. Cover with a towel and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
• Brush the dough with 3 tablespoons of the orange olive oil and sprinkle on the rosemary and 1 tablespoon of the vanilla turbinado sugar. Gently press the grapes, figs, and candied orange peel into the dough. Dimple the dough again. Cover with a towel to rest for another 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle on the remaining vanilla turbinado sugar and place in the oven. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the remaining orange olive oil. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the baking sheet to further cool. Cut into serving-size squares or rectangles and serve.
• Candied Orange Peel
• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest and part of the white pith from the fruit in strips. Cut the peel into 1/8-inch-wide strips. Place in a nonreactive saucepan and cover with the simple syrup. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss with the sugar and leave out uncovered overnight to let dry.
• Place in an airtight jar with half of the sugar. Reserve the remaining citrus oil-infused sugar in a separate jar for future use as a garnish or as flavored sugar.
• citrus olive oils
• Some condiment olive oils are a combination of two fruits, the olive and a citrus fruit, that have been pressed together. The process allows all the essential oils of the citrus to join with the oil of the olives. My favorite ones are from the Olive Press in Sonoma, California (see Resources). These finishing oils are wonderful as a baking ingredient, a dressing ingredient, in a marinade, or as a finishing oil simply drizzled over grilled fish or tossed onto plain pasta. They will transform the simplest of foods. Try the Meyer lemon, blood orange, and clementine oils (see Resources).
• vanilla turbinado sugar
• Turbinado sugar is a natural raw cane sugar that has not been bleached or over-processed. It is the result of slowly boiling layer upon layer of sugarcane, which allows the golden chunky crystals to retain their natural molasses and richness of flavor. Use it as an ingredient (especially to sweeten whipped cream) or sprinkle it on cookies or pie crusts. To make vanilla turbinado sugar, place a used vanilla bean pod or two in a jar of turbinado sugar and let stand for about 1 week to infuse the sugar with the vanilla flavor.

GRAPE-AND-ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, toss grapes with 1 tablespoon olive oil; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together flour, water, both raisins, and yeast with a mixer on medium speed until combined. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume and bubbling, about 2 hours.
• Add salt to bowl. Switch to dough-hook attachment and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium, and mix for 30 seconds. (Dough should be loose and sticky.)
• Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface using a dough scraper. Fold bottom edge of dough up toward the center and pat gently to deflate. Fold top edge down toward the center, and pat gently. (Folds should overlap slightly.) Repeat with left and right sides, tapping off excess flour as you work. (Dough will be difficult to handle, but try not to incorporate too much flour.) Gently flip dough into a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and repeat folding process. Transfer dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Place a pizza stone on floor of a gas oven (remove racks) or bottom rack of electric oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees for a convection oven or 450 degrees for a conventional oven for at least 45 minutes. Alternatively, if not using a pizza stone, preheat oven 15 minutes before baking.
• Pour 1/3 cup oil into a 13-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet, coating entire surface. Turn out dough onto baking sheet, coating bottom with oil. Dip fingertips in olive oil to prevent them from sticking, and push dough out toward edges of baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for 45 minutes, pressing dough toward edges occasionally.
• Scatter grapes over top and sprinkle with sanding sugar and rosemary. Top should be well oiled; if necessary, drizzle with up to 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Bake in lower third of oven or on preheated pizza stone, rotating halfway through, until bottom is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Immediately slide focaccia out of baking sheet onto a wire rack. Drizzle with any oil left in pan; sprinkle with flaky salt. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

GRAPE AND WALNUT SWEET FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment proof the yeast with the granulated sugar in the water for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy, add the flour, the salt, 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, the cinnamon, and the butter, and combine the dough well. With the dough hook knead the dough for 2 minutes, or until it is soft and slightly sticky. Form the dough into a ball, transfer it to an oiled bowl, and turn it to coat it with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is double in bulk. The dough may be made up to this point, punched down, and kept, covered and chilled, overnight. Let the dough return to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe. Press the dough evenly into an oiled jelly-roll pan, 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1 inches, and let it rise, covered loosely, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is almost double in bulk.
• In a bowl stir together the grapes, the walnuts, and the Marsala and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the focaccia with the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar and bake it in the bottom third of a preheated 400°F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it is cooked through and topping is caramelized. Let the focaccia cool in the pan on a rack and serve it warm or at room temperature.

BREAKFAST FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Prepare the dough for basic focaccia, setting it to rise as in Step 4, above.
• While the dough is rising, heat the two tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until very lightly browned. Set aside.
• Once the focaccia dough has risen and has been placed in the pan ready to bake, as in Step 6 above, spread it with the sauteed onions. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until browned on the bottom and lightly browned on top.
• Remove from the oven and cover with slices of smoked salmon. Stir the sour cream to thin it and using a spoon, drizzle it over the smoked salmon. Cut into squares and serve.