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Focaccia

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour (all purpose or bread)
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1.4 cups water
  • 2 tsp yeast
  • Olive oil
  • Optional ingredients: olives, pepperoni, cheese

Order of Operations

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Bring 1.4 cups of water to 100-115 degree fainthearted and pour into a small mixing bowl
  3. Add roughly 2 teaspoons of yeast to the water
  4. Add a teaspoon of flour to the mixture to proof the yeast
  5. Wait 5-10 minutes for the proof to complete; if a frothy surface has bubbled to the top, the yeast is alive
  6. Pour about 3 cups of flour to a large mixing bowl
  7. Add 1.5 teaspoons of salt to the large mixing bowl
  8. [Optional] Add chopped olives to the mixing bowl
  9. Pour the yeast + water mixture from the smaller mixing bowl into the larger bowl
  10. Work the mixture with your hands until no water remains and the dough forms
  11. Pour in 2 teaspoons of olive oil into the dough mixture
  12. Continue mixing the dough until the olive oil is absorbed
  13. Cover large mixing bowl with some kind of lid or covering and let sit for 20 minutes
  14. After the 20 minutes have passed, stretch and fold the dough:
  15. Dip your hands in cool water
  16. Pull one corner as high as possible without tearing the dough
  17. Fold over to the other side
  18. Rotate bowl
  19. Repeat 3 more times
  20. Let sit for 30 minutes, then repeat the stretch and fold process
  21. Let sit for another 30 minutes, repeat stretch and fold
  22. Let sit for another 30 minutes, repeat. By this fourth repetition, the dough should be much smoother and feel more elastic
  23. Drizzle enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a baking pan
  24. Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and place it in the baking pan
  25. Flip the dough over so both sides are covered in olive oil
  26. Gently stretch and massage the dough to the four corners of the pan. If the dough springs back, stretch it as far as it can go, cover the baking pan and let rest for 10-15 minutes, then try stretching again
  27. Once the dough can stretch to the edges without springing back, let the dough proof by covering the baking pan and waiting for 45 to 60 minutes
  28. Once proofed, lightly wet your fingers with water and gently push your fingers towards the bottom of the pan without piercing the dough. This will create the dimples of the focaccia bread
  29. Create an oil topping by adding 4.5 teaspoons of olive oil and 4 teaspoons of water to a small bowl and mix
  30. Drizzle this mixture over the top of the dough so the dimples catch the oil mixture
  31. Further toppings like olives, pepperoni, and/or cheese can be added after the oil mixture
  32. Place baking pan in heated oven for 25 minutes, the dough should be deeply golden-brown when ready/taken out
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