focaccia, i love

you!

i love bread. period. anyone who knows me would know how much i love bread. i simply love them. i don't know...there's something about bread fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter and jam (if you want)...it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. and not to mention, the house. the whole house will be smelling of bread. *sigh*

i decided to make focaccia yesterday. surprisingly, it was really easy to make. you don't have to spend half a day waiting for the dough to rise. i guess the hardest part would be when you need to knead (har har...need to knead....get it? no? cheh!) the bread. since i can no longer knead my own bread (i think something wrong's with my right hand...okay, i know something's wrong with my right hand...i think might be developing carpal tunnel syndrom, but i don't want to go there just yet), i used the help of my Giant (stand mixer, i call him Giant). so, when you have Giant to do all the kneading for you...it's pretty easy. yes? yes!

once again i got the recipe from yet another 500 series book this one to be exact. yes, yes...i have about 10 of these 500 series books. why? blame it on my 'condition'. haha!

okay everyone, shall we now go on to the recipe?

ingredients
5 ml (1 tsp) sugar
7g. (¼ oz) sachet active dried yeast
75ml (5 tbsp) warm water *
225g (8 oz) plain flour
30ml (2 tbs) EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
5ml (1 tsp) sea salt

the how to
1) dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. set aside for 10 minutes.

2) in the bowl of stand mixer, combine yeast mixture with flour. mix until all flour is incorporated. change to dough hook attachment and knead for 1 to 2 minutes until dough is smooth.

3) place dough in lightly oiled bowl, turning ball over to lightly coat with oil. cover with damp cloth (i used cling wrap) and set aside in a warm spot for 30 to 40 minutes, until dough has doubled in volume.

4) preheat oven to 240°C (475°F/Gas Mark 9). place dough on a lightly floured board and knock back once.

5) knead briefly, then shape the dough into a long flat rectangle with rounded corners, about 23x28cm (9x11 in). brush olive oil over surface and sprinkle with sea salt.

6) place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or use pizza peel to transfer to preheated baking stone in bottom of oven. bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden.

*i had to add about 10 tbsp of warm water because the dough was starting to look like breadcrumbs and it didn't look as if it was forming a dough.

give it a try, okay?

recipe source: 500 pizzas & flatbreads by rebecca baugniet