Italian Flat Bread Focaccia Recipes

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:

• Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix well. Heat water and vegetable oil until warm, and add to yeast mixture along with the egg. Blend with an electric mixer at low speed until moistened. Beat for 2 additional minutes. Stir in 1 3/4 cup flour while beating, until dough pulls away from side of bowl.
• Knead in 3/4 cup flour on floured surface. Cover dough with a bowl, and let sit for 5 minutes. Place dough on a greased baking sheet. Roll out to 12 inch circle. Cover with greased plastic wrap and a cloth towel. Place in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Uncover dough, and poke holes in it with a spoon handle at 1 inch intervals. Drizzle olive oil on dough, and sprinkle with crushed rosemary.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 17 to 27 minutes, until just golden. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on rack.

Steps:

• Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix the yeast into one side of the flour, and the fine salt into the other side. Then mix everything together, this initial seperation prevents the salt from killing the yeast.
• Make a well in the middle of the flour and add 2 tbsp oil and 350-400ml lukewarm water, adding it gradually until you have a slightly sticky dough (you may not need all the water). Sprinkle the work surface with flour and tip the dough onto it, scraping around the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-10 mins until your dough is soft and less sticky. Put the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 1 hr until doubled in size.
• Oil a rectangle, shallow tin (25 x 35cm). Tip the dough onto the work surface, then stretch it to fill the tin. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for another 35-45 mins.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Press your fingers into the dough to make dimples. Mix together 1½ tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp water and the flaky salt and drizzle over the bread. Push sprigs of rosemary into the dimples in the dough.
• Bake for 20 mins until golden. Whilst the bread is still hot, drizzle over 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Cut into squares and serve warm or cold with extra olive oil, if you like.