Focaccia

Sliced pieces of focaccia sprinkled with sea salt and rosemary sprigs on a wooden cutting board.
This content originally appeared on 

tasteforlife.com

Prep Time

90 minutes prep time + 26-72 hours rise time

Yield

1 loaf, serves 10

Recipe Source

Garlic, Olive Oil + Everything Mediterranean: Simple Recipes for the Home Cook

Ingredients

  • 1 envelope active dry yeast
  • 2 2⁄3 cup lukewarm water (104°)
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 5 1⁄2 cup bread flour
  • 1 Tbsp fine sea salt
  • 9 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for your hands
  • Flaky sea salt
  • Rosemary leaves

Directions

  1. Combine yeast, water, and honey in a bowl and mix until well combined. Let rest for 5 minutes. Yeast will feed off honey and become active. Once you see bubbles and foam starting to form on top, yeast is active and ready to use.
  2.  In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour and salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Turn mixer off and add yeast mixture. Mix on low speed for 10 minutes or until sticky dough forms. Scrape down sides of bowl to ensure all flour is incorporated.
  3.  Turn speed to medium-high and mix for 10 minutes. Dough should become smooth and elastic and be pulling away from sides of bowl. Turn mixer speed to medium, add 2 tablespoons of the oil, and mix for 1–2 minutes. It will look like oil is not going to mix into dough, but give it time. Once it’s incorporated, dough will again be smooth and slightly glossy. Cover stand mixer with a tea towel and leave dough to rest for 10 minutes.
  4. Using damp hands, pull dough out of mixer and place it onto an unfloured work surface. Use slap and fold technique to strengthen dough: with slightly damp hands, pick up far side of dough, pull it up and toward your body, and then slap it down and over surface of remaining dough that is sticking to surface. Rotate dough and repeat this for 2 minutes or until dough is smooth. Dough will be very hydrated and will be difficult to handle, which is why it’s important that your hands are damp and your surface is dry and can create friction.
  5. Place 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large bowl. Add dough to bowl and rub oil all over it to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in fridge for 24–72 hours. Dough will double or even triple in size. This is the first rise.
  6. When you are ready to bake focaccia, take dough out of fridge. Drizzle a 9×13×2-inch baking pan with 3 tablespoons of the oil, and then gently place dough in pan. Gently stretch dough out to corners of pan with your hands, making sure you don’t use too much pressure as you don’t want to deflate it too much. Don’t worry if dough does not stretch all the way out as it will double in size again. If there is any remaining oil in bowl, pour it all over dough.
  7. For second rise, cover pan with a clean, damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot. Let rise for 2–4 hours. Dough will rise to top of pan.
  8.  Preheat oven to 400°.
  9. Remove kitchen towel or plastic wrap from pan. Dampen your fingers with oil and press them into dough to form dimples and release gas. Bubbles will form and this is exactly what we are looking for! Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, rosemary leaves, and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Bake for 30–35 minutes.

Nutrition Info

384 Calories, 9 g Protein, 0 mg Cholesterol, 56 g Carbohydrates, 1 g Total sugars (1 g Added sugars), 2 g Fiber, 14 g Total fat (2 g sat), 208 mg Sodium, ★★★★★ Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Folate, ★★★ Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), ★ Vitamin E, Iron, Phosphorus