Focaccia recipe

Notes

• 1. Bread flour - high protein flour especially for bread which yields a chewier, more elastic crumb than using plain/all purpose flour. If making focaccia for company, worth a trip to the store to get it! But it's still worth making with plain/all-purpose flour. The crumb is just not quite as chewy. 2. Instant / rapid rise yeast - this is the yeast that doesn't need to be mixed with warm water and left to foam before using. It is just added straight into the dough. We found this makes the fluffiest focaccia. Dry active yeast - to make this using dry/active yeast, change recipe steps as follows: Mix warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Cover and leave in warm place for 10 minutes until surface is completely foamy. Mix Dry ingredients per step 1. Make a well, add foamy yeast water, and the olive oil. Proceed with recipe. Fresh yeast - haven't tried yet! 3. Potato - All-rounders or floury potatoes are better here than waxy ones. Australia - Sebago (dirt brushed) are great. US: Russet or Yukon Gold. UK: Maris Piper. See my Creamy Mashed Potato post if you need more detail on making mashed potatoes (only follow potato mashing steps, and don't salt the water – so, no butter or cream! 😉). 4. Sea salt flakes work best for sprinkling across the surface, rather than cooking/kosher salt. Definitely do NOT use table salt– too fine, makes it too salty, 5. Garlic Rosemary - this is a classic topping option. For this, we need to make Confit Garlic instead of using just raw garlic on the surface because raw garlic burns at the high temp required to bake the focaccia. Confit garlic becomes soft so it wonʼt burn, it will go golden and a bit crisp. The next day, some of it goes jammy which is sooo good! GARLIC cutting: Cut the garlic into 2mm thick slices then each slice into 6mm / 1/4” thick pieces. 6. Dough rising: The rate at which dough rises and how much it rises in the times provided depends how warm it is. At 25°C/77°C, the dough will rise by almost double in Rise 1 and Rise 2. Don't let the dough by much more than double (eg. triple in size) because the yeast may run out of rising power so the focaccia doesnʼt rise as much as it should when baking. My winter fallback for dough rising: the dryer! Run it (empty!) for a couple of minutes, then put the bowl in and quickly close the door. A warm cosy place for the dough to rise! 7. Pan - Metal pans will make the crispiest crust, and non-stick is best. If you don't have a non-stick pan, ensure you oil the pan base evenly and well. It may slightly stick but will still come out. Glass works fairly well too. 9”/23cm round cake pan also works great - see the olive focaccia pictured in post. Better if itʼs not springform as it leaks oil. Rectangle pan size: For rectangular pans, any pan with a (Length x Width) equal to around 500 - 600 (cm) / 75 - 85 (in), and a Height of around 5 cm / 2 in will work. So a 9-in square pan for example is perfect. Some US product links here, here and here. 8. Dimples: Donʼt be shy with this step - make lots of holes, you cannot ruin it, I promise! They donʼt need to be even, irregular is fine. Most of the holes disappear when baked. 9. Storage and reheating – Focaccia keeps well for a few days sealed in a zip lock bag. I highly recommend reheating in the oven to make the inside soft and fluffy again, and crisp the outside! Reheat at 180C (160F fan) on a tray, uncovered. The exact time depends on how big your piece is but start with 10 mins and go up from there. When the outside is crispy and the inside fluffy, it's ready! 10. Making dough ahead – We found this is one bread where letting the dough sit in the fridge for several days (whether to improve flavour or to prep ahead) actually leads to a WORSE focaccia. The dough loses much of its rising power, and results in a much denser bread when cooked. Overnight might be OK, but I did not test this. To be safe it's best to make this one on the day you plan to serve! 11. Nutrition per serving, assuming 8 servings.