Sweet Life Sweet Potato Focaccia Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together warm water, honey & yeast. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add olive oil, rosemary, Italian spice, sweet potatoes, salt, ww flour & Italian-style flour. Stir vigorously for about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in enough ap flour to make a soft dough.
• Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining ap flour to make a workable dough. Knead 5 to 8 minutes. Dough will be sticky but workable. Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover. Let rise 1 1/2 hours in a warm place; alternatively cover dough & refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.
• Allow dough to warm at least 30 minutes before shaping. .
• Line a 18 x 13 1 inch pan with parchment paper & sprinkle with cornmeal. Gently press dough over the cornmeal dusted paper, stretching dough into a 15 x 11 x 1 inch rectangle. Cover dough & let rise 15 to 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Dimple the dough vigorously with your fingertips, leaving up to 1/2 inch deep indentations. Sprinkle garlic, rosemary, Asiago cheese, black pepper & cayenne pepper over top. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with coarse salt.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Make the sponge. Combine yeast and water in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to dissolve. Whisk in sugar and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until bubbly and doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
• Make the dough. If using a stand mixer, whisk together yeast and water in a small bowl and let stand until creamy, a few minutes. Add to the sponge in the mixer bowl, along with sugar and olive oil. Add flours (including cornmeal) and salt and mix in with the paddle attachment for 1 to 2 minutes, until ingredients are amalgamated. Change to dough hook and knead on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should come together and slap against the sides of the bowl. It will be slightly tacky. To make the dough by hand, combine yeast and water as directed and whisk into sponge with sugar and olive oil. Whisk in all-purpose flour. Add salt, cornmeal and remaining flour, one cup at a time, folding it in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. When you can scrape out the dough, add flour to the work surface, put dough on top and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and velvety. Return to bowl (coat bowl lightly with olive oil first).
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Shape the focaccia. Coat a 12-x-17-inch sheet pan (sides and bottom) with olive oil. Line with parchment and flip parchment over so the exposed side is oiled. Turn dough onto baking sheet. Oil or moisten your hands and press out dough until it just about covers the bottom of the pan. Dough may be sticky. Cover with a towel and allow it to relax for 10 minutes, then continue to press it out until it reaches the edges of the pan. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm spot for 45 minutes to an hour, or until dough is full of air bubbles.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees after 15 minutes of rising (30 minutes before you wish to bake), preferably with a baking stone in it. Combine chopped rosemary and olive oil for the topping in a small pan and heat just until rosemary begins to sizzle. Count to 30 and remove from heat. Swirl olive oil in the pan and pour into a small measuring cup or ramekin. Allow to cool.
• With lightly oiled fingertips or with your knuckles, dimple the dough, pressing down hard so you leave indentations. Place hazelnut halves in the indentations. Distribute the fruit evenly over the dough and drizzle on the oil and rosemary. Combine the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over the fruit and dough.
• Place pan in oven on baking stone. Spray oven 3 times with water during the first 10 minutes, and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are crisp and the top is golden. If you wish, remove the focaccia from the pan and bake directly on the stone during the last 10 minutes. Remove from oven, remove from pan at once and cool on a rack. If you want a softer focaccia, cover with a towel when you remove it from the oven. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the oil and water, then mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water, mix again, then put on a lightly floured work surface and knead well. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
• Remove from the bowl, knock back the dough, then spread out with your hands onto a large, oiled baking tray 20cm x 30cm. Brush with olive oil and make deep indentations with your fingers. Layer the potatoes and rosemary leaves over the top and drizzle with a little more oil. Leave to prove for 1 hour until doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8. Sprinkle the dough with a little rock salt, if you like. Bake the bread for 30 mins until it is golden, the potatoes are tender and it sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Drizzle the loaf with more olive oil, if you like and, when cooled, serve on the tray.

Steps:

• Stir the yeast, sugar, and water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Let stand until mixture is foamy, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add oil, flour, and 2 teaspoons salt to yeast mixture. Mix on medium-low until dough comes together, 3 to 5 minutes. Raise speed to medium, and knead until dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer dough to an oiled medium bowl. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously oil a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet. Spread dough into sheet. Flip dough to coat both sides with oil, and stretch dough into corners of sheet. Lightly cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until dough comes to just above rim of sheet (3/4 inch) and is very billowy, about 30 minutes.
• Uncover dough; sprinkle lightly with salt. Sprinkle evenly with cheese, walnuts, and rosemary. Top with caramelized potatoes, overlapping and pushing them into dough in places. Bake 5 minutes. Rotate sheet; bake 15 minutes. Rotate sheet again; bake until edges of crust are golden, about 5 minutes. Drizzle with oil. Let cool slightly before serving.

Steps:

• Mix the focaccia dough as directed and set in a warm spot to rise.
• Meanwhile, prepare the onion filling. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy lidded skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, the capers, thyme and garlic, and turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer gently, stirring often, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the onions have cooked down and are very soft and lightly colored but not browned. They should taste sweet. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
• When the focaccia dough has risen, shape as directed into 1 large focaccia or 2 smaller focacce. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably with a baking stone in it.
• Dimple the dough with your fingertips and spread the onion mixture over the top in an even layer. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake, setting the pan on top of the baking stone (if using), for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown and bits of the onion topping are browned. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely.