Friday, May 28, 2010

Focaccia



I experimented with the no-knead bread dough and lo and behold; it worked. I simply added some olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) and malt (about 1 tablespoon) to the original recipe. The photos speak for themselves. The focaccia turned out delicious. If you are tempted to give it a try and have any questions, drop me a line.

Ingredients:

Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons light virgin oil

Tomato topping:
 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half  and juice squeezed out
1 garlic clove finely minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin oil
2 tablespoons grated parmigiano reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 -3/4 cup mozzarella,diced
salt
pepper


METHOD 

DOUGH:
The night before:

In a mixing bowl add the flour, the yeast and the salt. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, blend the dry ingredients.



Pour in 1 1/2 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of light virgin oil, and mix. Pull together the dough using your hands or a wooden spoon. 




Scrape any excess flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well incorporated and form into a ball.  The dough will have a stringy texture.



Place a piece of plastic wrap on the bowl to avoid the dough from drying out. Allow to rise in a warm dry, and draft free place for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. The photo to the right is dough that has risen overnight.

The next day: 
Transfer the dough to a greased and floured 12 " pizza tray. Dust the dough  lightly with flour, and with your hands spread out to the edges of your pizza pan, forming a disk. Drizzle with oil and season with salt.  Sprinkle fresh or dried rosemary on the top.  Place in a draft free place to allow to rise a second time for 1-2 hours
.

Topping:
While the dough is rising, prepare the topping by adding the prepared tomatoes in a bowl and tossing in the olive oil, parmigiano reggiano, the smoked  mozzarella, the minced garlic, oregano and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Once the dough has risen a second time spread  the tomato cheese topping gently on the focaccia dough.



Bake in a pre-heated 500º F oven for 15-20 minutes.



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