Tried my hand at focaccia for the first time. This is a bread I have been wanting to make for a long time. Tried it twice, the first one I didn’t let rise long enough but was tasty so did it again and this one was fantastic. Used this recipe with some slight changes (see below). Complimented it with some steak with simple salt and pepper on it. I tried it in an iron skillet and didn’t let the skillet get hot enough so didn’t have the crust I like on steaks but they were still good.
I added some salt to the dough itself. I mixed about a tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of dried rosemary together to rhydrate the rosemary. If I was using fresh rosemary (fresh herbs are almost always preferred) I don’t think we would have used as much. And then of course sliced tomatoes really thin and cooked it for 10 minutes and then added the cheese and cooked it for 5 minutes before.
Here is a pic of my first attempt, see how thin it is.
All of the traditional recipes I have seen have required using a sponge, though it was called something else (starts with a p if anyone remembers it I would be happy to relearn it.) A sponge is when you mix some yeast, water, and flour before hand and let it sit out. All sourdough starts with a sponge and true sourdough doesn’t use any extra yeast afterward. Adding this flour and water together allows it to autolyse and form nice gluten strands and adding the yeast allows the yeast to ferment and grow giving bread that nice robust flavor. Since this focaccia didn’t use a sponge I feel like I am missing some of the complexity of the flavors, but then again it only took an hour to make. I am going to try using a sponge next time and let you know how it turns out.
Other comments: This dough is one of the wettest that I have ever worked with. It should be sticky which allows it to be light and airy and not too dense. Downside of it is that it gets messy and is a little harder to work with, but the end result is worth it.
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proof. right? proof??