Herbed Focaccia Recipes

Steps:

• Five hours before baking the focaccia, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and oil the bottom and interior sides with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Begin panning and dimpling the White Master Dough, at 20-minute intervals, dipping your fingers in olive oil to keep them from sticking to the dough as you work. After three to four rounds of dimpling and resting, the dough will have relaxed enough to cover the whole pan. At this point, rub the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil over the dough and cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap. Then allow 3 hours for the final rise.
• When the dough reaches the rim of the pan (or doubled in size), position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F (425 degrees F for convection). Carefully peel off the plastic wrap, drizzle the dough with 2 tablespoons herbed olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 cups Parmesan or Romano cheese. Return to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Transfer the focaccia to a cutting board and let rest 3 to 5 minutes before serving.
• Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 8 minutes. Then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake 9 to 12 minutes longer, or until the top and the undercrust are golden brown. If using cheese, remove the pan from the oven when the focaccia looks done and sprinkle it with the cheese. Return the pan to the oven for 2 minutes and then remove it.
• Transfer the baked focaccia to the stovetop or to a heatproof counter. Using an offset spatula or bench blade, carefully slide it around the edge, between the crust and the side of the pan, and then lift the focaccia out of the pan and slide it onto a cutting board. Drizzle any oil remaining in the baking pan over the focaccia. If the parchment paper or baking mat is still clinging to the focaccia, remove it. Let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into 3- or 4-inch squares and serve.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast. Add all of the water and mix on slow speed for 30 seconds or stir with a large spoon to form a coarse, shaggy dough. Add the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, increase the speed to medium (or continue mixing with the spoon or with wet hands), and mix for another 30 to 60 seconds to make a wet, coarse, sticky dough. It may seem too wet to form a cohesive dough at this stage. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to fully hydrate.
• Increase the mixer speed to medium-high (or continue mixing by hand) and mix for another 30 to 60 seconds to make a smooth, sticky dough. It should be soft, supple and sticky to the touch, and offer a little resistance when pressed with a wet finger.
• Use 1 teaspoon of the extra oil to make a 15-inch-diameter oil slick on the work surface. Rub some oil on a plastic bowl scraper and on your hands and use the scraper to transfer the dough to the oil slick. Stretch and fold the dough. Cover the dough with a bowl and let it rest for 2 to 5 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold (rub more oil on the work surface as needed), cover the dough, and let it rest for 2 to 5 minutes. Then repeat the stretch and fold, cover with the bowl, and again let it rest for 2 to 5 minutes. Perform a fourth and final stretch and fold to make a smooth ball of dough. The dough will have firmed up after each stretch and fold and will now be soft, smooth, supple, and somewhat sticky but firm enough to hold together when lifted. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 12 to 72 hours.
• In a bowl, whisk together the oil, basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic and pepper flakes and paprika (if using), gradually adding the salt and whisking the oil to bring the salt to the surface before tasting. Store in the refrigerator in a container with a lid, where it will keep for at least 6 months. Makes 1 cup.

Steps:

• Stir yeast packet into water and allow yeast to bloom. (A light foam should appear on top of the water after about 5 minutes. This means the yeast is alive and active.)
• Add olive oil to water and mix.
• In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, and herbs together.
• Once incorporated, create a small well in the middle and pour in the water/yeast/oil mixture.
• Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn't stick to your fingers. The water and flour should come together and form a rough dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• NOTE: If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Once the dough begins to come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball.
• Coat the bowl the dough was initially mixed in with about a tablespoon of olive oil and place the dough ball inside. Give it a few turns to coat the dough in the oil.
• Cover and let the dough rise until it doubles in size about 1 hour.
• While the dough rises, prepare a large baking sheet by generously coating it with olive oil.
• Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten it out into a large rectangle.
• Using a knife or dough scraper, cut the dough into 4 evenly sized rectangles.
• Press the rectangles flat and arrange them with each one pressed into a corner of the baking sheet.
• Cover and let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450˚F (230˚C) while the dough is resting.
• Depending on the temperature of your kitchen and activeness of the yeast, the 4 rectangles should have risen to be about an 1-inch (2 ½ cm) thick.
• Using your fingers, poke the the dough all over--creating small dimples across the surface.
• Generously coat the tops of the dough rectangles one last time with olive oil (some oil will pool inside of the divots we made with our fingers. That's ok!) Use a basting brush to ensure all of the dough gets covered with olive oil.
• Top the dough rectangles with your choice of toppings. (We did four different combinations, including tomatoes with fresh rosemary, caramelized onions and parmesan cheese, mixed olive with gorgonzola cheese, and 3-cheese using parmesan, mozzarella, and gorgonzola.)
• Once finished with the toppings, liberally sprinkle the breads with a coarse salt.
• Bake at 450˚F (230˚C) for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into equal pieces.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Coat a 13 by 9-inch sheet pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Spread out the pizza dough to fit the sheet pan.
• In a small bowl mix together the Italian seasoning and remaining olive oil. Brush the seasoned oil all over the top of the dough, making sure to reserve about 2 teaspoons. Using your fingers punch dimples about halfway down into the dough. Bake in the hot oven for about 8 minutes.
• Remove the focaccia from the oven, top with tomato slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste, and bush with remaining 2 teaspoons of the oil mixture. Return to the oven and bake until the focaccia is gold brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm with Tuscan Peasant Soup with Tortellini.

Steps:

• Place 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, bread flour, white sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and active dry yeast, respectively, in the pan of a bread machine. Select pizza cycle; press Start.
• Combine crushed garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside to let it steep, about 30 minutes.
• Combine Parmesan cheese, parsley, onion powder, and herbes de Provence in another small bowl.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.
• Deflate dough and turn out into the baking sheet. Stretch dough gently out to 1/2-inch thickness, using your fingers to make dimples that will hold the toppings.
• Pour garlic and oil mixture onto dough and spread it evenly over the dough and edges with your hands. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle dough with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer from the baking sheet to a rack. Let cool, 5 minutes. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter.

Steps:

• Combine flour, yeast, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon rosemary, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Add water and 2 tablespoons oil; beat 1 minute (dough will be very sticky). , Divide dough among 18 greased muffin cups. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 375°. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together remaining herbs, salt and olive oil just until herbs are fragrant and oil is hot, about 1-1/2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool., Gently spoon cooled herb mixture over each roll. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Steps:

• Add ingredients for the dough according to bread machine directions.
• Select dough cycle.
• Remove dough to lightly floured surface; cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Grease a 13x9 inch pan and sprinkle with cornmeal.
• Press dough evenly in pan.
• Drizzle with oil, and scatter remaining topping ingredients evenly over dough.
• Cover with towel and let rise in warm place until doubled, 30-40 minutes.
• Poke deep holes with finger in risen dough about 1 inch apart.
• Bake at 400ºF on lower oven rack for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.
• Remove from pan, and serve warm.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the contents of the roll mix and yeast packets. Stir in the warm water, egg and 2 tablespoons oil; beat for 2 minutes or until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to grease top. Let rest for 5 minutes., Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12-in. circle. Transfer to two 12-in. pizza pans coated with cooking spray. Using fingertips, make indentations 1 in. apart on dough; cover. , In a small skillet, saute the onion, rosemary and thyme in the remaining oil for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Spread evenly on dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

Steps:

• First make the starter dough - mix the yeast with 100ml hand-hot water in a small bowl. Leave for 5 mins until bubbling. Add the flour to a large bowl, and pour in the yeast mix and another 250ml hand-hot water. Beat vigorously with your hand for a few mins. (The dough will be really wet but don't worry, you'll be adding more flour later.) Scrape all the dough from your hands and the sides of the bowl. Cover tightly with cling film and leave to ferment in the fridge for at least 12 hrs, overnight if possible.
• Meanwhile, make the herb oil. Set aside 2-3 sprigs each of rosemary and thyme, plus a few bay leaves. Bash the rest using a pestle and mortar (or use a rolling pin) to release the flavours, then stuff into a large sterilised bottle or Kilner jar, or a few jam jars (see tip, right). Heat the oil in a saucepan until just warm, then carefully pour into the bottle using a funnel. Leave to cool before securing with a lid.
• Take the starter dough out of the fridge about 1 hr before you want to make your focaccia - it should have risen considerably. To finish the dough, mix in the additional flour, the sea salt and herb oil until it's soft yet slightly sticky. Knead the dough with extra oil for 5 mins until smooth and springy. Return to a clean, warm bowl and leave to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Turn the risen dough onto a deep oiled baking tray (about 20 x 30cm) and press to a rectangle about 2cm thick. Break the reserved herbs into smaller bits and push them into the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size.
• Once risen, press lots of holes into the dough with your fingers. Brush the top with a little more herb oil and sprinkle over some rough sea salt. Fill a shallow tray with some water and put in the bottom of the oven, with the bread on a shelf above. Bake for 25 mins until golden, reducing the temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 if the bread starts to brown too much. Remove from the oven, scatter over the reserved herbs and bake for another 10-15 mins until cooked through. Cool on a wire rack until ready to eat. Tear into chunks and dip in more herb oil, if you like.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 tablespoon oil, salt, sugar, garlic powder, herbs, pepper and 1-1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into a 13-in. x 9-in. rectangle; place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. With fingertips, make several dimples over top of dough., Brush dough with remaining oil; arrange tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Freeze option: Freeze cooled focaccia squares in freezer containers, separating layers with waxed paper. To use, reheat squares on a baking sheet in a preheated 400° oven until heated through.