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6:00 AM
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Bread making had always intimidated me. I mean, working with yeast has always been scary. But when you zero in on the menu to make for one special evening, you got to roll up your sleeves and be ready to face your fear. Ok, I am not talking about a huge wrestling competition. My menu had Foccacia and Vegetarian chili to be made on Valentine's day. Foccacia is a pretty simple yeasted bread that can be made by anyone with no experience in leavened bread.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour / Maida - 3 cups
Salt - 1-1/2 tsp
Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
Sugar - a pinch
Warm Water - 3/4 cup to 1 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp + more for greasing
Sea salt - 1/2 tsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Onion - thinly sliced - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 3 cloves - julienne
Method:
Sieve the flour and salt together. Place the yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Pour 3/4 cup of lukewarm* water over it and allow the yeast to bloom, about 3-5 minutes. Mix 3 tbsp of oil to the water. Pour the warm water with yeast over the flour and knead together to form a dough, sprinkling water as needed. After the dough comes together, knead for about 5 minutes. Place in a well oiled glass bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. Place in a warm place for about 2 hours to rise, or it doubles it size. Punch down the dough and spread it in a 9x9 square pan greased with olive oil. If the dough does not spread to the whole pan, give it a few minutes and try again. When the dough is fully spread in the pan, make little dimples all over it with the index finger. Mix the italian seasoning with 2 tbsp of oil and brush all over the dough. Spread the onion and garlic and gently press over the dough. Bake the bread for 40-45 minutes, in an oven preheated to 375 F.
Cool the pan over the cooling rack. Slice the bread into little pieces and serve.
Notes: This foccacia is thick enough to slice for a sandwich. To help the dough rise, I preheated my oven to "Warm" mode for a couple of minutes and then turned it off and placed the dough inside to rise.
*Lukewarm - warm to the touch, like a baby's bottle.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour / Maida - 3 cups
Salt - 1-1/2 tsp
Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
Sugar - a pinch
Warm Water - 3/4 cup to 1 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp + more for greasing
Sea salt - 1/2 tsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Onion - thinly sliced - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 3 cloves - julienne
Method:
Sieve the flour and salt together. Place the yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Pour 3/4 cup of lukewarm* water over it and allow the yeast to bloom, about 3-5 minutes. Mix 3 tbsp of oil to the water. Pour the warm water with yeast over the flour and knead together to form a dough, sprinkling water as needed. After the dough comes together, knead for about 5 minutes. Place in a well oiled glass bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. Place in a warm place for about 2 hours to rise, or it doubles it size. Punch down the dough and spread it in a 9x9 square pan greased with olive oil. If the dough does not spread to the whole pan, give it a few minutes and try again. When the dough is fully spread in the pan, make little dimples all over it with the index finger. Mix the italian seasoning with 2 tbsp of oil and brush all over the dough. Spread the onion and garlic and gently press over the dough. Bake the bread for 40-45 minutes, in an oven preheated to 375 F.
Cool the pan over the cooling rack. Slice the bread into little pieces and serve.
Notes: This foccacia is thick enough to slice for a sandwich. To help the dough rise, I preheated my oven to "Warm" mode for a couple of minutes and then turned it off and placed the dough inside to rise.
*Lukewarm - warm to the touch, like a baby's bottle.
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