Focaccia Bread

This is a mouth-watering bread recipe that I made for my husband for Father's Day. I love the focaccia bread sandwiches at a local restaurant, and a couple years ago a friend of mine brought some of the bread, homemade, to a potluck lunch. I hadn't thought of making it myself. My friend said she found the recipe online. Here's one I found online which I altered to make my own. It makes a soft bread that is perfect for sandwiches - it's baked like pizza, somewhat flat then cut into squares and each square is sliced in half, horizontally (think hamburger bun). Adding toppings to the bread really makes it special – the focaccia bread I made, which is pictured here, had no toppings. Since it is a bit of work – a labor of love, really – I suggest doubling or tripling the batch. The triple batch I made was gone in no time.
Ingredients:
2 tsp. yeast
1 C. warm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 1/2-4 C. flour
1 Tbsp. coarse or regular salt
1/4 olive oil, or vegetable oil
Toppings:
2 Tbsp. olive oil, or vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 olives, sliced thinly
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. coarse salt or regular
ground pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
(all optional)
Directions:
In a bowl proof yeast, combining with the warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve. Let stand a couple minutes until foamy. Use mixer on low or stir by hand with wooden spoon, slowly adding the flour. Dissolve salt in 2 Tbsp warm water and add. Also add 1/4 C. oil. Continue mixing. If hand stirring, place dough on a lightly floured surface with extra flour on hand. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed.
Form dough into a ball. Set it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap in a warm place until doubled in size – about 30 minutes or more. (I like to turn on the oven to lowest setting for one minute, shut off, and place dough in the oven – make sure the oven is turned off!)
Add a light coat of oil to a cookie sheet and spread around (you can sprinkle with cornmeal if desired).
Once dough is ready, turn it out on counter and roll and stretch the dough into an rectangular shape about 1/2-inch thick. Lay the dough in the pan covered with plastic wrap, and let rest 15 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Saute onion in the oil on low heat for 10-15 minutes until caramelized.
Uncover dough and make dimples (about an inch apart) with fingertip. Brush dough with oil and add onions, garlic, olives, cheese, salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake on the bottom rack for 15-20 minutes. Makes one loaf for about 6-8 servings, depending on sandwich sizes.
The bread is great with any type of sandwich. I last used it with shredded chicken. It's also great with soup – just about anything!
Enjoy!
Angel's Tip: Using olive oil and coarse sea salt makes everything just a bit nicer, but if you don't have these on hand go with what you have in your cupboards, it will still turn out great!