FOCACCIA WITH FRESH ROSEMARY
By: Amy’s Bread
Amy’s focaccia is the ideal bread to bake in your home oven. It doesn’t require a stone hearth to give it a beautiful color or crust, and includes a little milk to keep it tender and moist.
Ingredients: Makes 1, 7” X 12” rectangle
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons Warm Water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups of Biga (recipe below)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons milk
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon + 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 branches of Rosemary
Biga Recipe:
3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons very warm water
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 + 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
Directions:
1. Line a 17” X 12” pan with parchment paper and lightly oil with olive oil
2. Place the yeast and warm water in a large bowl. Stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast and allow to stand for about 3 minutes. If you are working in a cool kitchen on a cool day, increase the water temperature to 105 F to give the dough a warmer start.
2. Add the biga (instructions for biga below) to the yeast mixture and mix with your fingers for 1 to 2 minutes to break it up. The mixture should look milky and foamy. Add the flour and mix it in with your hands, lifting the wet mixture over the flour to incorporate it. When the dough becomes a shaggy mass, move to a very lightly floured surface and knead until it becomes smooth and somewhat elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover with oiled plastic, and let rest for 20 minutes to smooth out and develop elasticity.
3. After the rest period add the milk, oil, and salt to the dough in the mixing bowl and knead it in the bowl until it is all incorporated.
4. Move the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until it is very smooth, silky, and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky, but don’t use too much flour for kneading. The finished dough should be wet but supple and springy
5. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it to coat with oil, and cover it tightly with oiled plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
6. Turn the dough while it is still in the mixing bowl. Gently deflate the dough in the middle of the bowl with your fingertips, then fold the left side over the middle, and the right side over the middle. Fold the dough in half, gently pat it down, and then turn it over so the seam is underneath. Let it rise again for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until nearly doubled in volume.
7. When the dough has risen, loosen it from the bowl and gently pour it onto the center of the oiled baking sheet. Pat it gently with your fingertips to stretch it evenly out to the edges of the pan. Be careful not to tear the dough. If the dough resists stretching, let it rest for 2 to 5 minutes, until it becomes supple enough to stretch again, then continue to press it out to the edges of the pan. (If the dough is dry, you may have to repeat the resting/stretching procedure several times.) Brush the top of the dough lightly with olive oil, cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 to 2 hours, until the dough has doubled and fills the pan (a finger pressed into the dough will leave an indentation).
8. Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 425 F and prepare the oven by placing a cast-iron skillet and a smaller pan (a mini loaf pan) on the floor of the oven or on the lowest possible rack in an electric oven. Place an oven rack two rungs above the cast-iron pan. Fill a plant sprayer with water. Fill a teakettle with water to be boiled later, and have a metal 1-cup measure with a straight handle available near the kettle.
9. Five to 10 minutes before the focaccia is ready to bake, turn the water on to boil, and carefully place two or three ice cubes in the small loaf pan in the bottom of the oven. This helps to create moisture in the oven prior to baking.
10. Brush and dot the surface of the dough gently with olive oil, dimple it in several spots with your fingertips to prevent air pockets from developing underneath, and sprinkle the surface lightly with kosher salt. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary all the way to the edges.
11. Quickly but carefully fill the metal 1-cup measure with boiling water, open the oven, and place the pan of focaccia on the oven rack, then using the plant sprayer, quickly mist it 6 to 8 times. Quickly but carefully pour the boiling water into the cast-iron skillet and immediately close the oven door.
12. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until golden brown and crusty but still very soft inside.
13. Remove the focaccia from the oven and immediately brush it lightly with olive oil. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then carefully slide it onto a cooling rack. Remove the parchment (to prevent steam from softening the bottom crust) and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares.
Biga Starter Recipe:
1. In a medium bowl, mix the warm water and yeast together and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes, until a smooth, somewhat elastic batter has formed. The batter will be fairly thick and stretchy; it gets softer and more elastic after it has risen. Scrape the biga into the container, mark the height of the starter and the time on a piece of tape on the side of the container so you can see how much it rises, and cover the container with plastic wrap.
2. Let it rise at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours. Or let it rise for 1 hour at room temperature, then chill it in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. Remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours to warm up and become active before use. Biga should more than double in volume. If you use the starter while it’s still cold from the refrigerator, be sure to compensate for the cold temperature by using warm water ) in your dough, instead of the cool water specified in the recipe. Use the starter while it is still bubbling up, but before it starts to deflate.
courtesy of Amy’s Bread