Rosemary Foccacia Bread

Lately it seems I have been in a bread baking frenzy.... anything bread and I want to try baking it. This has been both good and bad - the good thing is that I am starting to get comfortable working with yeast. The bad thing is that I've been eating a LOT more bread than I usually do. Time to double my workouts I think! Any way, I've been trying out foccacia recipes - I still haven't found one I'm in love with, but this one is quite good and I have a few suggestions that should make it even better.

Rosemary Foccacia

Adapted from Bread From Beginners handout (the Pink Spatula)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary
• coarse salt

Method:

1. Add water, olive oil, salt, yeast and flour to a large bowl in order given. Finely chop leaves from one sprig of rosemary and add it to the bowl. Stir until all of the flour is incorporated. You may need to use your fingers to get the last bit of flour incorporated. Loosely cover and let sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
2. The recipe notes that you should press the dough to about 1/2 inch thick on an oiled baking sheet. I thought this was too thin - I would put it into an 8x8 inch pan and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. This will give you a thicker bread. Let rise 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F.
3. When dough has risen, dimple it randomly with your fingertips. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with finely chopped leaves of the last sprig of rosemary and coarse salt.
4. Bake until golden brown (about 30 minutes). Don't over bake it though - you want soft bread. Transfer to rack to cool.
5. Enjoy!

So thats that! Easy rosemary foccacia bread. I will keep you posted if I find another recipe that I like better, but at this point, I think this recipe is winning! Do you have a favorite foccacia bread recipe? If you care to share, feel free to send me an email (check out my contact information on my blog). Thanks for stopping by. Happy Baking my Friends!