Focaccia, that lovely olive oil enriched bread is always so tasty. Covered with a mix of herbs and and parmesan with cheese in the dough too this one is extra special. Such a great loaf for dipping and as an accompaniment to dinner.
I do love focaccia and usually make a large one, with rosemary, thyme and sage. But for this recipe, which doesn’t take long at all I decided to add cheese powder and herbs, as well as some parmesan grated over the top.
I based this on a recipe on King Arthur Baking but with some changes to suit my preferences.
Although I used cheddar cheese powder and a combination of Italian seasoning and mixed herbs grated cheese would work well in the dough too, as would garlic or onion powder. Indeed almost any combination of flavouring could be used in moderation.
The dough takes almost no time to make, just a couple of minutes of mixing. Then it just has to be rested for an hour before being topped and then baked. So within a couple of hours you can be eating freshly baked focaccia.
Mine turned out very well indeed. The taste of the cheese and herbs came through perfectly and I enjoyed it with my lunch on the first day and then used some for a panini type sandwich the next day. I froze the remainder to use on another day.
If you like focaccia you should try Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic and Parmesan Focaccia.
Ingredients:
- 428g(2 3/4 cups + 1 1/2 tbsp, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup) bread flour
- 340ml( 1 1/2 cups) lukewarm water
- 30ml(2 tbsp) olive oil, for the dough
- 30mll(2 tbsp) olive oil, for the pan
- 15ml(1 tbsp) olive oil to drizzle on top of the dough
- 8g(1 1/4 tsp) salt
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 10g(3 tsp) instant yeast
- 28g(1/3 cup) cheddar cheese powder)or grated cheese
- parmesan cheese for grating on the top of the dough, to taste
Method:
- Place the flour, salt, cheese powder and Italian seasoning into a large bowl.
- Mix around to combine.
- Add the yeast into the warm water an stir around.
- Add 2 tbsp olive oil into the water.
- Add the water to the dry ingredients and used a dough whisk or a spoon to mix for two minutes until all is combined and a stretchy dough has formed(you can do this in a mixer too)
- Place 2 tbsp oil into a 9×13 inch(24×33 cm) pan that has about 2 inch sides.
- Brush the oil over the base and up the sides of the pan.
- Place the dough into the pan and use oiled hands to press it levelly over the base.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and leave to rise for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/ 3575 F.
- Drizzle some oil over the dough and use a hand to gently wipe it all over the surface.
- Use the tips of the finger on one hand to make indentations all over the surface of the dough.
- Sprinkle mixed herbs over the top.
- Grate parmesan over the top too.
- Bake in the over for 35 to 40 minutes until the focaccia is baked through and is nicely browned on top.
- Remove from the oven and leave for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Hi Veronica. I am glad you found this recipe easy to make and good to eat. It is, as you have found, very adaptable to what flavourings you have available. I believe you have now sorted out signing in to youtube too. Well done.
obviously I still haven't got it quite right…it says I'm Unknown…. good thing I remembered to sign my name….
Hi Geoff…. I made a focaccia the day before you posted this … darn it. Because the recipe was a nuisance and I'm sure the flour to liquid was not right.
Anyway…. I have just made this one and wow… easy peasy and very tasty. I used some fresh Rosemary chopped fine and mixed it right into the dough along with some sauteed onions.. did mine in my stand mixer…… then, on top I added grated cheddar, sun dried tomatoes and sliced black olives… mmmmmm I bet we ate half already for supper with some soup. Don't think I will bother with quite as much oil in the pan next time but, will use this as my "go-to" focaccia from now on. Easy preparation and not a long rise and such a tasty result.
Thanks again Geoff.. your recipes never let me down. Wish I could figure out how to log in to the Youtube page to add a comment… somehow I have lost the knack…
Veronica