Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Rosemary & Sage Focaccia Bread

This is my absolute favourite focaccia recipe. I found a recipe in a book years ago, but it didn't have all the elements I wanted, so I mixed about 3 recipes together to do this one.

2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (1 pkg)
2/3 c. warm water
1 c. unbleached flour
1/2 c. water, room temp.
1/3 c. white cooking wine
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 c. unbleached flour
2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped rosemary leaves (fresh)
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped sage leaves (fresh)
extra chopped rosemary & sage to sprinkle on top before cooking.

spritzer bottle with cold water (for spraying inside oven when cooking)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Place warm water in large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over. Whisk in, let stand for about 10 mins. Until creamy. Stir in flour & beat until smooth. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 mins.

Add the water, wine, olive oil, chopped rosemary & sage. Whisk in 1 c. flour and the salt, then beat in the rest of the flour until the dough is very soft and sticky. Knead on a lightly floured board, adding additional flour as needed, until dough is silky and shiney, it should be soft, but not wet.

First rise: Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, let rise until doubled, about 1 hr.

Second rise: Once the dough has doubled in bulk, remove from bowl and press into a lightly oiled 10.5 x 15.5 inch pan. Dimple it well with your fingertips, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 45 mins.

Pre heat oven to 450F (with baking stone inside, if using) at least 30 mins. ahead. Before baking focaccia, gently dimple once again with your fingertips, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt,and extra herbs. Place focaccia in oven, reduce heat immediately to 400F, spray walls of oven with water from spritzer bottle. Spray the walls 3 times in the first 10 mins. of cooking. Bake focaccia for 25 - 30 mins, until golden. Immediately remove from pan, let cool. Serve with a side dish of a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Dip bread into oil/vinegar and eat.

Makes one pan of focaccia

Enjoy,
Myrna

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