I like to make bread at home on the weekends. This recipe is straight forward for home baking and a nice introduction to bread making. I use instant yeast in this recipe, which means you can just add the yeast with the flour. I enjoy the flavor of whole wheat bread, however if you would like you can just use all purpose flour. Focaccia makes flavorful Panini sandwiches or just enjoy it with good olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Ingredients
960g whole wheat flour
2 tsp/7g dry instant yeast
2 tsp/7g salt
720ml water
240ml extra virgin olive oil
160g all-purpose flour
1 tbsp/10g chopped fresh rosemary
Pinch rock salt
Method
1. In a large bowl combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, yeast and salt. Gradually work in the water and the olive oil until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, which should take about 10 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl and brush olive oil on the dough. Cover the bowl with a slightly damp tea towel and place the bowl in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Punch down the dough and place the dough in a lightly greased 12 inch sauté pan. Press the dough to fill the sauté pan and work it with your finger tips to create dimples all over the bread. Let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Sprinkle the rock salt and rosemary on top of the dough and place in the pre-heated oven bake for around 30 minutes until it has a golden colour on top. Allow to cool on a cooling rack before eating.
