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FOCCACIA

Foccacia bread


use any recipe for pizza dough and before kneading add .5 cup fried chopped onions, .25 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, a handful of cooked, chopped pancetta. I like to roll out "snakes" of dough and then
braid them on a cookie sheet: 8 across, 8 down, leaving space in between. After the first rising the spaces will almost have vanished. Brush lightly with olive oil, add some more chopped onions, and bake at 400 until done (20 min). This focaccia tears apart in little squares.


This bread can be cut into small (3" x 3") pieces to be eaten as an accompaniment or appetizer as is, or it can be split and filled for a sandwich.

1 1/4 cups hot tap water
1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup dry milk powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 to 4 cups bread flour

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp coarse salt

Dissolve the yeast in the hot tap water. Add the sugar, dry milk powder, olive oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add the first 3 cups of bread flour gradually, mixing well after each addition. Add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour and mix in until smooth. Place some of the last 1/2 cup of flour on the kneading board, turn out the dough onto the board, and knead in only enough flour to give you smooth, barely non-sticky dough. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in an large, oiled bowl, cover with saran, and allow to double in a warm place (about 90 minutes). Punch down and allow to rise until doubled again (about 40 minutes).
Punch down and divide the dough into two parts. Let rest for 10 minutes. Spray two cookie sheets with a no-stick product (Pam, Baker's Joy, whatever). Spread a piece of the dough out on each of the pans (I use my hands like I was doing a pizza crust) into an approximately oval shape. Don't try to be perfect. It should have that "rustic" look. Brush the surface with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Indent the surface of each loaf by pressing all over with your fingertips. (Don't make holes.) Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (approx. 30 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Press all over again with fingertips. Bake the bread for about 20-25 minutes. depending on how brown and crisp you like your bread.



GARLIC &PARMESAN FOCACCIA

Use the above recipe, except add 6-8 cloves of crushed garlic to the olive oil you brush on the top of the loaves. Be sure you distrubute the garlic bits evenly over the loaves. When the bread comes out of the oven and is still very hot, sprinkle with as much grated parmesan (or Romano) cheese as you like.



GREEN ONION FOCACCIA

Use the above recipe. When the bread loaves have baked for 15 minutes, sprinkle the top of the loaves with a mixture of 1 bunch of green onions (finely chopped) and 2 Tbsp GOOD DARK olive oil. Continue to bake for the remaining time.



VIDALIA ONION FOCACCIA

Use the above recipe. Just before putting the loaves into the oven, sprinkle the tops of the loaves with thinly sliced vidalia onions mixed with just enough olive oil to moisten them. We like lots of onions.



TOMATO BASIL FOCACCIA

Use the above recipe. Just before putting the loaves into the oven, top each with 1/4 slices of roma tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. Brush the tops of the tomatoes and basil leaves with a little olive oil.



NOTE: As you can see the variations are limited only by your imagination. We use other herbs and toppings depending on what we have on hand or have a taste for. The focaccia shouldn't look like a pizza ...................it is a bread. It also warms (almost like fresh-baked) in the microwave, so you can enjoy for several days. Often I will bake only one loaf, putting the other half of the dough in the freezer to be baked fresh (maybe with a different topping) at a later time.