Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Focaccia

It was cold and gray for most of the day, so I thought it was a perfect time to have the oven on and to make some focaccia. I made a delicious sun-dried tomato and basil focaccia that just hit the spot.

The recipe made a lot, so I gave some to my neighbors as well, and we still have plenty more to enjoy ourselves too.

Focaccia is ½” to 1″ thick with a light crust on the top and bottom. It’s often described as “flatbread” or “Italian flat bread,” but unlike the flat bread we’re used to, it isn’t flat at all, but thick and fluffy. Focaccia is a flat oven-baked bread that has been made in Italy for centuries. It is a traditional Italian bread with many variations. A precursor of pizza, focaccia is one of Italy’s most ancient breads. It is thought to have originated with the Etruscans. The earliest focaccia were unleavened flatbreads made from flour, water, and salt, but today, anything goes, and there are many different variations.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Focaccia

This is a simple recipe that doesn’t require many ingredients. The most important ingredients to this recipe are good olive oil, time and patience.

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 cups warm water, divided

2 TBSP olive olive oil or basil olive oil + more for coating the pans and topping the focaccia

1 -1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil

5 1/4 cups flour

1 TBSP dried basil

2 1/4 tsp salt

coarse salt for topping

Sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup of the water, mix it in, and let it set for about 10 minutes, to get frothy.

Put the sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor and chop fine.

Combine the flour, dried basil and salt together. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and mix well.

Add the rest of the water and the olive oil to the yeast mixture.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then add the yeast mixture to the center. Gradually mix it in from the center out with a wooden spoon or spatula as much as you can.

Then turn the dough onto a work surface and knead it all together for about 8 minutes, forming into a large, soft ball.

Place the dough into a large oiled bowl and cover. Let it rise for an hour. After the dough has risen, turn it out on to the work surface again and divide the dough into 2 parts. Now this is the part that is a little weird for me. The recipe said to divide the dough into 2 UNEQUAL parts, with one being almost twice the size of the other. I think the ingredients should have been increased to make two equal portions, but what do I know. I did actually follow the recipe (for the most part) on this, as I usually do when baking. Cooking, not so much.

Oil two large, rectangular baking pans well with olive oil. Evenly spread the oil to cover the whole pan.

Add the larger dough ball to one pan, then carefully spread it out with your fingers until it fills out the pan as much as possible. Dimple the dough with your finger tips as you go.

Do the same with the smaller ball of dough. You will only fill about 1/2 the pan with this one. Cover and let the dough rise again for about 1-1 1/2 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400* F or 205*C. Dimple the dough again before placing into the oven. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top and sprinkle the coarse salt over the top. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Spray some water in the oven 3 times within the first ten minutes of the baking process. Spraying down the oven will help create steam, which will keep the dough soft and helps to delay the crust forming process. The moist steam reinvigorates the yeast in the dough. Steam gives bread dough time to expand and the added moisture keeps the dough from drying out before it has time to rise If you don’t spray, the top will become to hard and dry out and/or crack. Focaccia is supposed to be a soft bread.

Once the focaccia is done let it cool for about 5-10 minutes before slicing it and enjoying it with another drizzle or two of olive oil. I drizzled it with the basil olive oil. !Perfecto! !Mangia!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.