Rustic Focaccia Recipes

EASY ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Combine 5 tablespoons warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Add flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Stir in 1 tablespoon additional water at a time, if necessary, until all flour is absorbed and mixture has pulled together into a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until springy, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 465 degrees F (240 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Deflate dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly, then pat or roll dough into a sheet and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush with remaining oil and make dimples across the surface with your fingertips. Sprinkle with rosemary leave and extra salt to taste.
• Bake in the preheated oven to desired crispness, about 10 minutes for light and fluffy or 20 minutes for crunchier and darker on the outside.

RUSTIC FOCACCIA WITH TOMATOES, ONIONS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Set aside in a warm place away from drafts until the yeast is forming small bubbles, about 15 minutes.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 TBSP sea salt, ½ cup olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 3 more minutes on medium speed until the dough becomes smooth and soft. If the dough feels sticky or tacky, sprinkle it with some more flour.
• Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and knead it by hand for a few minutes, adding more flour if necessary.
• Coat the inside of the mixing bowl lightly with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
• Coat two sheet pans (13" x 9" x 1" jelly roll pans) with the remaining ½ cup olive oil.
• Place the dough onto the pans and begin pressing it out (with the tips of your fingers) to fit the size of the pans. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pans. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make small dimples all the way through the dough (but on the boarder). Put the dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 °F and prepare the topping.
• In a large skillet, caramelize the sliced onions by slowly cooking them, uncovered, in some olive oil with a sprinkle of salt, until they are lightly browned, stirring occasionally (but not too often). Add the tomatoes and cook briefly. Turn off the heat and add the fresh herbs and Kalamata olives (or, any favorite olives). Set aside.
• Liberally sprinkle the top of the focaccia with some coarse sea salt and lightly drizzle some olive oil on top. Bake the foccacie for about 10 minutes and then spread the caramelized onions, tomatoes, fresh herbs and olives mixture over the two pans. Bake them for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove the pans from the oven and let them cool slightly before cutting and serving.

RUSTIC FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place unrolled pizza crust into pizza pan, roll to the edges of the pan.
• Mixing well, combine the oil, seasoning mix and garlic.
• Spread over pie crust.
• Top with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
• Sprinkle olives and onions over the mixture, then top with tomatoes and remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with Parmesan cheese and additional Italian seasoning mix (to taste).
• Bake until the crust is golden brown, and the cheese is melted, about 23-26 minutes.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

PAIN à L'ANCIENNE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Combine the flour, salt, yeast, and water in a mixing bowl. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for about 1 minute, until well blended. The dough should be coarse and wet. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to fully hydrate the flour.
• Drizzle the olive oil over the dough, then resume mixing on medium-low speed using the paddle attachment, or by hand using a large wet spoon or wet hands, for 1 minute. The dough should become smoother but will still be very soft, sticky, and wet. Use a wet bowl scraper or spatula to transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface. With wet or oiled hands, reach under the front end of the dough, stretch it out, then fold it back onto the top of the dough. Do this from the back end and then from each side, then flip the dough over and tuck it into a ball. The dough should be significantly firmer, though still very soft and fragile. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover, and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Repeat this entire process three more times, completing all repetitions within 30 to 40 minutes. (You can also do the stretch and folds in the bowl, as shown on page 17.)
• After the final stretch and fold, return the dough to the oiled bowl and immediately cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days, or pan it immediately (as described below).
• To make 1 large focaccia, line a 12 by 16-inch sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Oil it generously, including the sides, with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then transfer the dough to the pan. Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over the top of the dough, then use your fingertips to dimple the dough and spread it to cover about half of the pan. Make sure the top of the dough is coated with oil, then cover the pan (not the dough) tightly with plastic wrap and immediately place the pan in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 4 days.
• For round focaccia, cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit inside an 8- or 9-inch round pan. Oil both the parchment and the sides of the pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then transfer the dough to the pan. For an 8-inch pan, use 8 ounces (227 g) of dough; for a 9-inch pan, use 12 ounces (340 g) of dough. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the top of the dough, then use your fingertips to dimple the dough and spread it as far as it will allow. Don't force the dough when it starts to spring back. Cover the pan (not the dough) tightly with plastic wrap and immediately place the pan in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 4 days.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 1/2 hours before you plan to bake, and if you haven't already panned it, follow the instructions above to do so, spreading it to cover a portion of the pan.
• Warm the oven for just a few minutes, then turn it off; or, if you have a gas oven with a pilot light, it's warm enough without any heating. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the surface of the dough and, beginning in the center and working toward the sides, dimple the dough with your fingertips to spread it over more of the pan. The dough will start resisting and sliding back toward the center after a minute of this; stop dimpling at that point. It should now be covering 70 to 80 percent of the pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and put it in the warm oven (with the heat off!). For a gas oven with a pilot light, leave the focaccia in for just 5 minutes. Otherwise, leave it in for about 8 minutes. (If you have plenty of time, you can simply let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes between dimplings, which will require a total of about 4 hours prior to baking.)
• After the focaccia has been out of the oven for 10 minutes, remove the plastic wrap, drizzle another small amount of olive oil over the dough, and dimple it again. This time it should cover about 90 percent of the pan. Cover it again and return it to the warm oven for 5 minutes in a gas oven with a pilot light or 10 to 20 minutes for any other type of oven. On the third dimpling (if not the second), the dough should evenly fill the entire pan. If it creeps in from the corners because of the oil, don't worry; it will fill the corners as it rises. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and proof the dough in the slightly warm oven as before, removing it after 5 to 10 minutes and completing the rise at room temperature. It should be about 1 inch high in 1 to 1 1/2 hours (longer if not using the oven).
• Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). (You don't need a baking stone, but if you'd like to use one, allow 45 minutes for it to preheat.) Top the focaccia with your choice of toppings (see page 70 for topping ideas), but wait until the end of the baking time to add any cheese.
• Place the pan in the oven. For large focaccia, lower the oven temperature to 450°F (232°C) and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the top of the dough is golden brown. For round focaccia, keep the oven temperature at 500°F (260°C) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. If you use moist toppings, such as fresh tomatoes or sauce, the focaccia will take longer to bake. To test for doneness, use a metal spatula to lift the edge of the focaccia so you can see the underside; it should be a mottled golden brown in spots, not white all over. If you're topping the focaccia with cheese, add it when the focaccia appears to be done, then bake for another 2 to 4 minutes to melt the cheese.
• When you remove the focaccia from the oven, run a pastry blade or metal spatula along the sides of the pan to loosen the focaccia, then carefully slide the focaccia, parchment and all, onto a wire rack. If any olive oil remains in the pan, pour it over the top of the focaccia. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

EASY FESTIVE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. Spread pizza crust over the surface to fit.
• Stir together 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, parsley, kosher salt, and pepper flakes in a small bowl. Brush oil mixture over the dough. Make indentations all over the surface of the dough by pressing your finger or the end of a wooden spoon into it.
• Create a festive wreath or Christmas tree shape in the center of the dough with rosemary sprigs, cherry tomatoes, and olives. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden brown, about 17 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

RUSTIC SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• To Make the dough:.
• Place all ingredients for dough, except for the tablespoon of flour in the machine and run the dough cycle.
• Add more water if necessary to for a very wet dough that barely holds its shape and does not leave the bottom of the pan. (I've never had to do this).
• At the end of the cycle, remove the bucket from the bread machine, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-18 hours (Note: the recipe as originally written said here to sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the dough before covering and refrigerating. That might be required if the dough were likely to rise and touch the plastic wrap, but I've never had that happen after making this recipe many, many times [Unless making multiple recipes, I always refrigerate in the bread machine bucket]. If you transfer the dough to a not-so-large bowl and are concerned about it, by all means, sprinkle away).
• If you don't have a bread machine and want to use a stand mixer:.
• - Put all the ingredients, starting with the starter, in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• - Mix on low, starting with the paddle attachment for 20 minutes. Feel free to switch to a dough hook when you feel it's appropriate.
• - Allow to rise for 90 minutes.
• - Mix for one minute and then proceed as directed above.
• To Finish the Focaccia:.
• Pour the dough into a 9x13" baking pan that has been prepared with olive oil and corn meal.
• Cover the dough with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 hours.
• Then remove from the fridge and, leaving the dough covered, allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, caramelize the onions (using 1-2 medium onions) with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Preheat the oven to 475°F.
• After the two-hour rise at room temperature, spread the onions over the dough.
• Sprinkle the remaining olive oil and the salt over the dough.
• Bake 20-25 minutes until the top is crusty and a rich golden brown color.
• Eat hot, warm, or at room temperature.