Herb Foccaccia Recipes

HERB FOCACCIA ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine flour, yeast, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon rosemary, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Add water and 2 tablespoons oil; beat 1 minute (dough will be very sticky). , Divide dough among 18 greased muffin cups. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 375°. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together remaining herbs, salt and olive oil just until herbs are fragrant and oil is hot, about 1-1/2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool., Gently spoon cooled herb mixture over each roll. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

HERB FOCACCIA BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the contents of the roll mix and yeast packets. Stir in the warm water, egg and 2 tablespoons oil; beat for 2 minutes or until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to grease top. Let rest for 5 minutes., Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12-in. circle. Transfer to two 12-in. pizza pans coated with cooking spray. Using fingertips, make indentations 1 in. apart on dough; cover. , In a small skillet, saute the onion, rosemary and thyme in the remaining oil for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Spread evenly on dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

ONION-HERB FOCACCIA

Steps:

• On a floured surface, roll out 1 pound refrigerated pizza dough into a 10-by-15-inch rectangle; press into an oiled rimmed baking sheet. Mix 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary and/or oregano, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and a big pinch of sea salt. Brush half of the herb oil over the dough, then set aside until puffy, about 1 hour. Make dimples in the dough with your fingers and top with thin onion slices and shaved parmesan. Bake at 400 until golden, about 20 minutes. Brush with the remaining herb oil.

TOMATO-HERB FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 tablespoon oil, salt, sugar, garlic powder, herbs, pepper and 1-1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into a 13-in. x 9-in. rectangle; place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. With fingertips, make several dimples over top of dough., Brush dough with remaining oil; arrange tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Freeze option: Freeze cooled focaccia squares in freezer containers, separating layers with waxed paper. To use, reheat squares on a baking sheet in a preheated 400° oven until heated through.

FOCACCIA WITH FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast and sugar into 1/2 cup of the water - do not stir.
• Let stand 10 minutes or until the surface becomes bubbly.
• In large bowl, combine flour and table salt.
• Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in yeast mixture and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Stir with wooden spoon or electric mixer, and slowly add remaining 1/4 cup water - dough will be soft and slightly sticky.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, adding small spoonfuls of flour if necessary.
• If you are using a stand mixer, you may continue using the dough hook setting rather than turning out on the board as mentioned in step 6.
• When dough is smooth and elastic, place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth.
• Let rise in a warm place- about 80-85 degrees - until doubled in bulk, for 1 hour.
• Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently several times.
• Flatten into 10-inch circle. Place on an oiled baking stone, pizza pan or heavy cookie sheet (I use a large cast iron skillet). Press indentations into the surface of the dough with fingers to make "dimples." Loosely cover and let rise about 15 minutes, or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 425°F.
• In a blender or mortar and pestle, combine remaining 3 Tbsp olive oil and herbs until leaves are broken up and oil is fragrant.
• Pour over dough. Rub gently into surface. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
• Bake 15 minutes, reduce heat to 400°F.
• Bake 5 minutes more, or until golden brown.
• Let cool and cut into wedges.

HERB FOCCACCIA

Steps:

• Combine the yeast with a quarter cup of the water. Cover and leave until doubled in volume. If the mixture does not rise, throw it away and use a fresh package of yeast.
• By hand: Combine the flour and salt and place the mixture on a smooth work surface. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, two tablespoons olive oil and remaining water. Gradually work the flour into the liquid, using a wooden spoon. When the dough is too stiff to work with the spoon, knead until smooth and shiny, about eight to 10 minutes. Add more flour if the dough gets too sticky.
• In a food processor: Fit the bowl with a steel blade and put the flour, salt, olive oil, yeast mixture and remaining water into the bowl. Process until the dough forms a smooth ball, about 20 seconds. Place the dough on a smooth surface and knead for a couple of minutes, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky.
• Put the dough in an oiled mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down and knead into a smooth ball. Let rise again for one more hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Knead the herbs into the dough. Press the dough out onto a floured pizza pan (9-by-12-inch rectangular or 15-inch circular) and let rise for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with remaining two tablespoons olive oil and salt and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2-cup warm water and honey; let stand for 5 minutes. Add flour, 1/4 cup oil, salt and remaining 3/4-cup water; mixing until smooth (dough will be wet). Scrape the sides of the bowl clean; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes., Preheat oven to 425°. Brush a 13x9-in. baking pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Gently scrape dough directly into pan. With oiled hands, gently spread dough. If dough springs back, wait 10 minutes and stretch again. Make indentations in the dough with your fingers. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil; let rise until doubled in size, 30-40 minutes. , If desired, sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares; serve warm.

HERB OIL FOCACCIA

Steps:

• First make the starter dough - mix the yeast with 100ml hand-hot water in a small bowl. Leave for 5 mins until bubbling. Add the flour to a large bowl, and pour in the yeast mix and another 250ml hand-hot water. Beat vigorously with your hand for a few mins. (The dough will be really wet but don't worry, you'll be adding more flour later.) Scrape all the dough from your hands and the sides of the bowl. Cover tightly with cling film and leave to ferment in the fridge for at least 12 hrs, overnight if possible.
• Meanwhile, make the herb oil. Set aside 2-3 sprigs each of rosemary and thyme, plus a few bay leaves. Bash the rest using a pestle and mortar (or use a rolling pin) to release the flavours, then stuff into a large sterilised bottle or Kilner jar, or a few jam jars (see tip, right). Heat the oil in a saucepan until just warm, then carefully pour into the bottle using a funnel. Leave to cool before securing with a lid.
• Take the starter dough out of the fridge about 1 hr before you want to make your focaccia - it should have risen considerably. To finish the dough, mix in the additional flour, the sea salt and herb oil until it's soft yet slightly sticky. Knead the dough with extra oil for 5 mins until smooth and springy. Return to a clean, warm bowl and leave to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Turn the risen dough onto a deep oiled baking tray (about 20 x 30cm) and press to a rectangle about 2cm thick. Break the reserved herbs into smaller bits and push them into the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size.
• Once risen, press lots of holes into the dough with your fingers. Brush the top with a little more herb oil and sprinkle over some rough sea salt. Fill a shallow tray with some water and put in the bottom of the oven, with the bread on a shelf above. Bake for 25 mins until golden, reducing the temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 if the bread starts to brown too much. Remove from the oven, scatter over the reserved herbs and bake for another 10-15 mins until cooked through. Cool on a wire rack until ready to eat. Tear into chunks and dip in more herb oil, if you like.