Focaccia

 

FOCACCIA IS THE BEST INVENTION OF ALL TIME, PROBABLY. It's better than the wheel, because wheels don't taste good with soup. 

Focaccia

From: Culinary Institute Of America 

Focaccia 
Yield: 3 lb /1.36 kg

Cornmeal, as needed
18 fl oz / 540 mL water
½ oz / 14 g compressed yeast
2 fl oz / 60 mL extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb 12 oz / 794 g hard wheat flour
½ oz / 14 g salt

Garnish Options
Crumbled goat cheese, as needed
Olives, pitted and sliced, as needed
Pine nuts, as needed
Sun-dried tomatoes, as needed
Chopped herbs such as basil and oregano, as needed
 

1. Line baking sheets with parchment. Scatter with cornmeal.
2. Combine the water, yeast, and oil until yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt. Mix the dough until smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to ferment for 75 minutes. Punch down and scale the dough at 10 oz / 284 g per foccacia. Round off dough. Set dough on prepared sheet pan and proof at room temperature 1 hour.
3. Press the balls of dough flat and stretch slightly. Brush with olive oil and add any optional garnish items desired. Pan-proof an additional 30 minutes.
4. Bake in a 425°F / 218°C oven for approximately 30 minutes.

Variation Grissini: Prepare the dough through step 2. Punch down and scale at 1½ oz / 43 g. Round off the dough. Seton a sheet pan and proof at room temperature 1 hour. Roll the balls into long, thin sticks. Brush with olive oil or egg wash and top with desired seasoning: kosher salt, sesame seeds, or fresh herbs. Pan-proof an additional 15 minutes. Bake in 425°F / 218°C oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
 
Chef’s note: Focaccia may be lightly brushed with garlic and olive oil and served on its own, used as the base of an hors d’oeuvre or sandwich, or dressed with various additions

Ciabbata Rolls

Since I like to do things the old-fashioned way a lot of the time, this recipe is slightly adapted because I don't have a dough hook attachment for my mixer (which is about 700 years old) and mixed and kneaded the dough by hand. Like any recipe written by Daniel Leader (author of Bread Alone) these may take a bit of effort, but are so worth it.

Ciabatta Rolls

From Panini Express by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon tepid water (70-78 degrees)

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan and brushing the rolls



1. Pour the water into a large bowl and then add the yeast, flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil and stir with a spatula to blend into a dough.

2. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and knead for about 12-15 minutes (which will seem like quite long time to do by hand, so I recommend putting on some music you like so you don't get bored). You may need to dust the dough with more flour so it doesn't stick to your hands, so have a bowl of it nearby.

3. Oil a 7 X 11 baking dish and scrape the dough into the dish. Pat it with oiled fingertips to flatten it.

4. Let the dough rest 5 minutes, then use lightly oiled fingertips to push and stretch it across the bottom of the dish.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm, draft free place until it has doubled in volume and reaches the top of the pan, about 2 hours.

6. Lightly oil a large baking sheet and invert the dough onto the baking sheet, then use a sharp chef's knife to cut the dough into six squares, then use the knife to push the squares three inches apart from each other.

7. Drape a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough pieces and leave them to expand by about 50%, around 40 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 475 F.

9. Remove the plastic and bake the rolls until dark golden brown, about 20 minutes.

10. Brush the hot rolls with olive oil and let cool completely on the baking sheet before slicing.