Focaccia
Perfect for sopping up pasta sauce at dinner, with an espresso for breakfast, or as the base for a decadent open-face sandwich at lunch, any meal can be improved by including homemade focaccia. You’ll want to pull out all the stops on this one: lots of your best olive oil and the flakiest sea salt. If you want to top it with herbs or veggies, use fresh, it’s so worth it. But seriously, don’t skimp on the olive oil. I was surprised by how much was needed for flavor, and the better the olive, the better it tastes.
Ingredients
For the dough:
2½ cups lukewarm water
½ t active dry yeast
1 t sugar
5 1/3 cups AP flour
2 T Kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan and finishing
Flaky sea salt for finishing
For the brine:
1½ t Kosher Salt
⅓ cup lukewarm water
Ingredients:
Combine water, yeast, and sugar to dissolve and activate.
Using a stand mixer, add flour and yeast mixture. Mix on med-low until incorporated, and add the salt. Mix a minute longer and then transfer to an oiled bowl for the first rise.
Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil evenly onto a rimmed baking sheet. When the dough is ready, use your hand to release it from the sides of the bowl and fold it onto itself gently, then pour it out onto the pan. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the dough and gently spread it across. Gently stretch the dough to the edge of the sheet by placing your hands underneath and pulling outward. Flip the dough to cover all sides with the olive oil. The dough will shrink a bit, so repeat stretching once or twice over the course of 30 minutes to ensure dough remains stretched.
Dimple the dough by pressing the pads of your first three fingers in at an angle. Make the brine by stirring together salt and water until salt is dissolved. Pour the brine over the dough to fill dimples. Set the focaccia aside to rise for 45 minutes until the dough is light and bubbly.
Thirty minutes into this final proof, adjust rack to center position and a second rack to the upper position. Preheat oven to 450°F. If you have a baking stone, place it on the center rack. Otherwise, invert another sturdy baking sheet and place on that rack. Allow to preheat with the oven until very hot, before proceeding with baking.
Sprinkle focaccia with flaky salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes directly on top of stone or inverted baking sheet until bottom crust is crisp and golden brown when checked with a metal spatula. To finish browning top crust, move focaccia to upper rack and bake for 5 to 7 minutes more.
Remove from oven and brush or douse with 2 to 3 tablespoons oil over the whole surface (don’t worry if the olive pools in pockets, it will absorb as it sits). Let cool for 5 minutes, then release focaccia from pan with metal spatula and transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*Recipe adapted from Salt Fat Acid Heat.
