The focaccia dough is actually rather simple to make, however it has two short rises (1 hour and then 45 minutes) and then a VERY long rest time. Long as in 24-36 hours. And even though I had read the recipe in advance and knew about the long rest time, I somehow couldn't make myself get up and get it prepared so that it would be ready in time for a Tuesday morning post. Oh well!
The dough itself is made of water, yeast, olive oil, flour and salt. It is mixed together and then divided into three balls to rest in oiled ziplock bags in the refrigerator. Take it out of the refrigerator, let it rest on the counter for another hour to get to room temperature, and you are ready to actually bake some focaccia!
I don't think I shaped mine the right way, as they ended up rather thin in the middle and thick on the edges, which is very apparent in the above photo, the focaccia in the front left side. You are supposed to pull and stretch the dough to a square (or rectangle in my case) about 10 inches across, then let it rest another 10 minutes. Then slash the dough in a tic-tac-toe pattern, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs and sea salt. Into the oven for about 15 minutes and you have focaccia! I forgot to score my first one (the one in the very back) thus it is more bubbly in the middle.
All in all, the focaccia tasted good even if it was too thin in the middle. The thicker parts were soft and chewy like focaccia should be. But I am not sure the end result was worth the time involved....
The clever girl and I used them to make sandwiches for dinner. Mine was roasted zucchini and red bell pepper, prosciutto, and sundried tomato/herb goat cheese. Hers was just prosciutto and goat cheese. She isn't a fan of cooked vegetables yet, just raw!
According to the clever girl, "this bread is so delicious, Momma! Mmmm!"
I'll take it!
The focaccia recipe may be found on pages 143-145 of Baking with Julia, or on Sharmini's blog, Wandering Through.
Your bread and that sandwich look delicious, for sure!
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