Focaccia Bread Deliciousness

Homemade bread is delicious. So very delicious that I am at the point where going down the bread aisle in the grocery store will make me nauseous. It just smells so fake. If I end up buying bread at the store I will opt to spend just a few cents more and get the bakery bread. I am especially fond of the discounted bakery bread at Wal-Mart. Though, I am not a fan of Wal-Mart in general, just the bread.

I found this recipe at Cupcake Project for Foccaccia bread and have been making it ever since. Today while making it, I even realized that I have it memorized.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 C all-purpose flour (added in parts)
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 C warm water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
2. Mix in warm water, vegetable oil, and egg until dough is moist.
3. Beat on medium for 2 additional minutes.
4. Stir in 1 3/4 cup flour while beating until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
5. Remove dough from the bowl and knead in 3/4 cup flour on floured surface.
6. Cover dough and let sit for 5 minutes.
7. Place dough on a greased baking sheet. Roll out to a 12 inch circle (or whatever shape you choose).
8. Cover with plastic wrap and a cloth towel.
9. Place in a warm place for 30 minutes.
10. Uncover dough, and poke holes in it with a spoon handle at 1 inch intervals.
11. Drizzle olive oil on dough.
12. Bake at 400 F for 17 to 27 minutes, until just golden.

When I make it, I sometimes add 2 teaspoons of herbs to the dough to make it nice and fragrant. My favorite mix is Italian seasoning, it makes my house smell like a pizza shop. Or rosemary is good on it too. Also, what I do about 90% of the time is take a cup or a cup and a half of the white flour and trade it out for wheat flour, rye flour, or triticale (rye-wheat mix) flour. Adds fiber, and tastiness.

I should also add that I don't actually knead it on a counter, I just knead it in the bowl and leave it in there to rest for the 5 minutes, then I take it out and put it on my baking stone (with corn meal sprinkled on top instead of oil) and roll it out with a rolling pin to make it the size of the baking stone. 

I will cut slivers off and eat with butter and jam. Or I cut it into squares and slice those in half (Hamburger bun style) and use them as buns or sandwich bread.

My favorite part about this recipe is that I can whip up a loaf of bread in less than an hour. It is about 10 minutes of actual work, the rest of the time is resting, rising and baking time.

I highly suggest this recipe if you are in the mood for a warm, toasty, fresh-out-of-the-oven treat. Or sandwich bread, it makes GREAT sandwich bread.
 
Live and Love