Focaccia

Focaccia

an Italian flatbread

Focaccia

Servings: 4

Description

an Italian flatbread

Ingredients

For basic dough

For flavouring

For topping

Equipment needed

Instructions

  1. Grease the baking pan with olive oil and set aside.
  2. Take a wide mixing bowl and add the flour, salt, sugar, cilantro, jalapenos or chillies in a mixing bowl & mix lightly.
  3. Make a well in the center of flour and pour in the water, lime juice, olive oil & yeast & immediately mix with the spatula till all the flour is incorporated.
  4. Then beat 20 more times by hand or with the spoon. The dough will be sticky at this stage. If mixing with hands then grease palm lightly with oil & knead/ beat the dough.
  5. Pour this sticky dough into the prepared baking pan (using greased hands) and push to cover entire pan, the sides and all and level the surface.
  6. Cover the pan with cling film or damp kitchen towel and set aside for one hour. The dough would have risen in an hours time or at least sufficiently puffy but for this recipe rising up to double its quantity is not the criteria.
  7. Preheat the oven at 190 C for 10 mins towards the last 10 mins of the rising time.
  8. Dimple the dough on top with grease finger & pour olive oil on top. Sprinkle jalapenos, grated cheddar cheese, dried herbs.
  9. Bake for 35 to 40 mins or till done. The Focaccia is done when the top is golden & the bottom sounds hollow when tapped with fingers.
  10. Remove and sprinkle some more herbs if desired. Cool in the pan for 10 mins and then turn onto a wire rack & cool completely.
  11. Cut into slices or chunks and serve!

Note

A good quality olive oil is a must for focaccia. Olive oil brings out the other flavors.
You could use vegetables as topping.
It is best eaten fresh or on the same day.
Though you can top the dough with as many flavors as you like, it is always preferable to use a max of two flavors so as not to confuse the flavors. Unlike a pizza, flavor of the focaccine bread is dominant and not the topping.
If you plan to bake the dough next day for breakfast, mix the previous night & refrigerate the dough covered. Then the next day bring it to room temperature 45 minutes to an hour prior to baking.
For flour, I used a mix of 1.5 cups wheat flour and 2 cups all-purpose flour.
If using active dry yeast instead of instant then the quantity would be - For 1 tsp instant yeast you will need 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast. You will need to add the active dry yeast to mixture of some warm water and sugar (refer packet instructions) and set aside for 10 minutes till frothy & then add to the flour.
Note : 1 tbsp equals 3 tsp
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