Soft and Crispy Focaccia

Focaccia is something I consider dangerous because it’s so damn good; I can’t stop eating it when it’s sitting right there in front of me. And after all the technical bread recipes I’ve learned from Dessert Person, I was relieved to learn this is a very forgivable one.

Originally, I wanted to try two of the topping variations; the garlic and rosemary version and the tomato, garlic and thyme. However, my pregnancy heartburn when I made this recipe was intense, so I decided to save the tomato version for another time. Either way though, I pretty much had all the ingredients to make this entire recipe.

I started by placing lukewarm water in the stand mixer and whisking in active dry yeast, letting it get puffy for a few minutes. I’ve learned from other recipes that it really is crucial to get the water temperature to around 105°F like Claire directs; typically, I just heat it in the microwave, but I only zap it for ten seconds at a time and continually test the temp. It’s amazing how quickly a microwave will get water hotter than 105°!

I added more water to the yeast mixture along with flour and kosher salt, then mixed it for about five minutes until the dough became smooth. I don’t stray too far from my mixer when I’m using it to make dough, as it takes a lot of energy and often needs to pause to scrape everything back down. I stopped the mixer and placed a damp towel over the bowl for ten minutes, then mixed it again for about 12 minutes until it became very sticky.

After adding some oil to a bowl, I transferred the dough there, spreading the oil all over the dough with my fingers. I placed the damp towel over the bowl again and let it rise for 90 minutes. While the dough was rising, I mixed olive oil, garlic cloves and fresh rosemary in a small bowl.

It seems you really can’t use enough olive oil for this recipe. Once the dough had doubled in size, I drizzled olive oil across a rimmed baking sheet. Don’t worry if you’ve got oily hands at this point, you’ll need them! I took the dough and stretched it a bit, allowing it to pull itself down into the bowl before I spread it out across the sheet pan. Then I covered it in plastic wrap and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Before a second proofing, I uncovered the dough and pressed my fingers into it to give it that bubbling look focaccia is known for. I placed the plastic back on and let it proof for about 50 minutes. I, once again, used oiled fingers to press into the dough to make more bubbles before drizzling the herb and garlic topping across the entire sheet of dough. I also sprinkled it with salt. The focaccia baked for about 23 minutes, forming into a gorgeously browned and fluffy bread.

I let it cool almost completely in the sheet pan afterwards before trying a slice, and all I can say is wow! This bread recipe can truly give a person hope they can successfully make delicious, airy, flavorful bread. It tasted just as good, if not better than restaurant focaccia. And since this bread is so oiled up, you don’t need to add anything to it unless you want to use it to make a sandwich. This also helps it last for a while (but sadly, we could not eat all of it ourselves, as much as my heart wanted to). I can’t wait to make this again after pregnancy so I can try the tomato toppings without suffering from heartburn afterwards.

Claire shows why this recipe is a great way to start learning about bread making in this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGnMrM9qDtE