Fresh Focaccia

There's few things I love more than freshly baked focaccia. When it's still warm from the oven and crispy and has enough oil that it starts dribbling down your face. I'm a focaccia fiend! One of the first friends I made in Italy with the local focaccia lady, Carmen. Those early conversation days over a slice of fresh focaccia will always be a sweet memory.

Luckily, this addictive bread is surprisingly easy to make. A little time consuming but if you have a lazy day at home to multitask and make some fresh focaccia, it's totally worth the effort. Since it has no preservatives, it can go stale in a few days. If you don't eat it all in time, use the leftover stale focaccia to make some EPIC Panzanella! 

Photo by Julia Gartland, Food52

Focaccia

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Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups warm water​
• 1 package Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Tb sugar
• 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
• 1 Tb kosher salt
• 1-2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, and possibly more
• Optional: course sea salt, fresh rosemary, red onion slices, sun dried tomatoes and any other delicious goodies you want to sprinkle on top!

Recipe:

1. Gently mix the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and wait until the mixture is combined and bubbling, about 10-15 minutes
2. You'll need a stand mixer fitted with a bread hook. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 1/2 cup olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes on a medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft. If it starts to stick to the sides too much, toss in a little flour. 
3. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface, then knead it by hand 1 or 2 times.
4. Get a large, wide bowl and drizzle in some olive oil. Spread all over the sides and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and place in a warm area until it has doubled in size, usually an hour. If you're making this in the winter, place it in the oven with the door cracked open on LOW. We made this in Texas in the summer so it would rise pretty quickly when we put the bowl in the attic.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, coat a large sheet pan with olive oil. 
6. Put the dough onto the greased pan and gently press it to fit to the size of the pan. Press your fingers into the surface to create dimples to catch more olive oil later. 
7. Cover the dough loosely with a thin towel and place the tray in a warm place until doubles in size again, about 1 hour. I sometimes place a cookie rack over the tray and then drape the towel over that. While you wait for the dough to rise, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
8. Pour 1/4-1/2 olive oil all over the top and sprinkle with any toppings you want to add (salt, onion, rosemary etc). Bake the dough until the top of the loaf is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
9. Remove the focaccia from the oven and pour MORE olive oil on the bread. Let cool just enough to where you can cut it and safely start munching on it while it's toasty! 

Recipe adapted from Food Network and from cooking with my Italian uncle in Texas, who is never bashful with olive oil!