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Light Focaccia
The Italian-style flour in this recipe makes a
light, tender focaccia, rather than one that’s dense
and chewy.
Dough
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Italian-Style Flour*
1/3 cup Italian Bread Improver (optional, but good)
2 tablespoons Pizza Dough Flavor (optional, but
good)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups water
Topping
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
coarse salt
fresh rosemary, snipped, or dried rosemary
*Substitute pastry or all-purpose flour if you wish,
though you’ll get markedly different results; you
may also need to increase the amount of water.
Mix together all of the dough ingredients and knead
briefly; 5 to 6 minutes, by hand or machine, is all
this dough needs (kneads). If you’re using a bread
machine, program for dough or manual, but hit the
cancel button after 8 minutes of kneading.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Remove it from the bowl, and fold it over a few
times, to redistribute the growing yeast.
Place the dough onto a lightly greased or
parchment-lined half-sheet pan (or similar-size pan,
about 18 x 13 inches), and pat it out into a
rectangle about 10 x 15 inches in size. The dough is
very tender and easy to work with. Brush it with
olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and
rosemary. Cover the focaccia, and set it in a warm
place to rise for about 30 minutes.
Just before baking the focaccia, use your fingers to
gently dimple the dough every 2 inches or so. Bake
it in a preheated 425°F oven for 18 to 20 minutes,
until it’s golden brown. Remove it from the oven and
place it on a wire rack to cool slightly before
cutting it into squares. Serve plain, or top with
any of our focaccia toppings. Yield: about a dozen
4-inch squares.
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