The Knobbly Plate

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Garlic and rosemary focaccia

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One of my absolute favourite breads to make is Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia. It’s so simple to make using my food mixer as an all in one mixer. Simply add all the ingredients to the mixer and switch it on using my K beater. An absolute favourite of my ex wife it never failed to please and today I make it at least every other week to dip into my winter vegetable soups.

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Garlic and rosemary focaccia
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Ingredients
  • For the dough
  • * 500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour
  • * 7g instant yeast
  • * 1 tsp salt
  • * oil for greasing
  • For the topping
  • * 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle after baking
  • * 3 rosemarybranches, needles only, finely chopped
  • * 2 large garliccloves, finely chopped
  • * 1 tsp flaked sea salt
Instructions
  1. Make the dough: Mix the ingredients together, and then knead the dough by hand or with your mixer.
  2. Let the dough rise: Place dough into a greased bowl, cover tightly, then set aside to rise for about 2–3 hours.
  3. Flatten dough out onto a baking pan: Punch down the risen dough to release the air, then use your hands to flatten the dough out onto an oiled baking sheet. If the dough keeps shrinking, cover it for 5 minutes to let the gluten settle.
  4. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator: The cold temperature slows down the rising. In fact, there’s so little yeast that the dough will hardly rise at all during this step. Let it rest in the refrigerator for as little as 1 hour and up to 24 hours. The longer it rests, the better the flavor. I recommend at least 12 hours,.
  5. Remove from the refrigerator: Let the dough hang out on the counter as you preheat the oven and prep the toppings. It will rise a little bit, but not much.
  6. Preheat oven: Focaccia bakes in a very hot 450°F (232°C) oven.
  7. Dimple the dough: A good stress reliever! Use your fingers to dimple the entire surface of the dough.  The dimples give the olive oil and toppings “a place to go.” This step is fun!
  8. Add toppings: A simple blend of fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme, and basil is a favorite, but I have plenty of focaccia topping suggestions listed below. No matter which topping you use, drizzle olive oil all over the surface.
  9. Bake: Bake until golden brown. I set the oven to broil for the last minute to really crisp up the surface. Highly recommended!