One day, I would love to go to Italy. I have always been so intrigued by their country, culture, and food! Who’s with me?
Another thing I love is the warmth of homemade bread. So when I first heard focaccia, I knew I needed to try. It is a simple way for me to make a fresh loaf, but it gives me a little taste of that trip I might one day take.
This bread is pretty simple to mix up. I like it because it needs to rest for quite some time. So I like to mix it up in the morning, go about my day, head to work, go for a jog, and then it will be ready to bake right around dinnertime.
I am a firm believer that your food can only be as good as the quality of ingredients you use. There are times where I use my cheap $6 olive oil from Walmart. But this bread most definitely an appropriate time to pull out my finest bottle of olive oil and generous douse the bread with it. You really can’t put too much on this bread. It is tender, flavorful, and salty.
My favorite thing to pair this with is meatballs. Just plain meatballs! A little bread, a few meatballs and I am all set. But I bet you can find some great things to pair it with. Let me know what you find!
Buon Appetito!
Print Recipe
Olive Oil Focaccia
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup water, luke warm
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon instant dried yeast
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- In a large pot (at least 4 quarts), combine the flour and water. Mix by hand until just incorporated. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Sprinkle the salt and yeast evenly over the top of the dough. Again mix the dough by hand. Gently grab the side of the dough, stretch up, and fold the dough over itself. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Do this 8-10 times until the salt and yeast are evenly distributed. If the dough is sticking to your hand, you can wet your hand before mixing.
- Cover the dough once again. Let it rest for 5-6 hours, or until tripled in size.
- Preheat the oven to its hottest setting.
- Generously grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
- Turn the dough out of the bowl and place it on the oiled baking sheet. Gently begin to press the dough flat using the tips of your fingers. Generously douse the dough with olive oil. Continue to work the dough out as far as it will stretch. The goal is to have the dough flat, wide, and with divots. Sprinkle with garlic salt and dried oregano.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden brown and cooked through.