I should start this post by saying that someone asked me. 'why waste time making bread when it can be bought so cheaply?' My response -- the smell of bread in the oven gives me a warm fuzzy feeling but more importantly nothing can taste better than home made bread (done properly of course). Bread making also teaches one to be patient. Oh, so very patient.
Last Sunday I forayed into a long abandoned attempt to make focaccia, a flat baked italian bread. My last attempt in Spring garnered some rather encouraging comments, but goodness it was HARD. i mean, rock hard. Undetterred, I was determined to recreate the memory of that fabulous bite of home made ligurian focaccia I shared with Mr Mo in Porto Venerre.
That was a warm August day -- it was summer. Hot, sultry, with a gentle breeze of the sea. When someone told me that eating could actually be a sensory experience, I never knew what that meant until that day. Bread, hot from the oven, drizzled in olive oil so luscious, and sprinkled with salt that teased you with the scent of the Ligurian sea. All that intertwined together, oh my...I might have been in heaven.
All that from bread did you say? Yes. BREAD.
So it was a rather dreary lazy Sunday, and I was slightly depressed that the summer sun had wandered off to greener pastures, and the memory of Liguria crept into my mind. So off i hopped to tescos to pick up some necessities -- Rosemary, Garlic, Bread Flour. You see, that, plus some good extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, yeast, a pair of hands, and oh -- patience!! Trust me. Anyone can make this :D
- 300 g white bread flour.
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the bowl and pizza pan
- 1 tablespoon or 5g of baker's yeast.
By now, the dough should be smooth and supple, and rather soft but not sticky and wet; adjust with a little flour or wtaer as needed. Transfer to an oiled bowl and shape into a ball. Cover with a cloth and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
Transfer the dough to a generously oiled round baking pan and push with your fingers until it extends to the sides of the pan. Let rest 30 minutes, covered. This second rise is very important as it makes the bread light and fluffy. Uncover the dough and dimple it with your fingers, using the pads rather than the nails so you don’t tear the dough. This is the most important step in the focaccia-making process; dimple the dough deeply for best flavor. Scatter the Rosemary and chopped garlic over the dough. Let it rise at room temperature 30 minutes, covered with a cloth.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220degress celcius (preferably with a baking stone in it).
Combine the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil and the remaining teaspoon of salt with ¼ cup of room-temperature water in a bowl. Pour over the focaccia.
Bake the focaccia on the bottom rack of the oven (or place the baking pan on the baking stone) in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden on the top and bottom and lightly crisp. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Note that the bread does not keep for more than 1 day. To store, keep it wrapped in aluminium foil and in an airtight container. This prevents it from becoming hard too quickly.
Buono Appetito!
