Focaccia is the delicious flat bread that comes to us from Liguria region, the same place that we get Pesto! This bread is best served warm from the oven and can be served as an antipasta course or with your meal. Everytime I have made it here in Italy my Italian guests are delighted and dive in exuberantly!
Don’t be shy with the olive oil, be generous in the pan when you first start pressing the dough in, also while it’s rising and when you bake it! Olive oil is a food here, a food to be enjoyed and part of a healthy Mediterranean diet!
A friend of mine sent me this suggestion for making “Garden” Foccacia and I loved the idea! My veggie garden wasn’t quite producing veggies yet so I used edible wild flowers, herbs from the garden, olives and my one tomato for the “sun”! Think how creative we can become when we have zucchini, bell peppers, and more tomatoes! Give it a try and see what beautiful landscapes you can create!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of flour
- 1 cup of warm water (the temperature you would use to give a baby a bath)
- 1 package or scant tablespoon of dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- olive oil
Instructions:
- Add the yeast to the warm water (like a baby’s bath water), allow a few minutes for it to start to bloom
- add three cups of flour and salt
- stir until it is too sticky then start to knead with your hands, adding flour as you go.
- keep kneading for about 10 minutes, the dough should be elastic, meaning it will spring back after you poke it.
- Pour olive oil into the bowl, the bowl should be big enough for the dough to double in size. Turn the dough over to coat completely with oil.
- cover the dough and allow to rise about 1-2 hours
- generously oil your focaccia pan, mine was 12”x12”
- Press the dough into the pan pressing it down with your fingers. The indentation made by your finger tips will make a nice surface for the drizzled olive oil
- allow to rise another hour
- decorate with your flowers, veggies like bell peppers, onions, olives, tomatoes and herbs.
- drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
- bake in hot oven (450) for about 15 minutes.
- serve warm
