Focaccia Bread unique to pronounce is an Italian bread with golden brown crispy top and soft interior. Focaccia is a very flavorful bread that is topped with olive oil and herbs. This oven baked bread is prepared with a yeasted dough that is similar to or same as the pizza dough but the both taste entirely different. Focaccia bread is a very simple and easy to prepare recipe once the dough turns perfect and dough becomes a perfect one when you knead it well and use ingredients of proper measurements. I am a huge fan of this bread as it requires very less work and you really need patience before you can dig in the bread as it needs hours of proofing to get the desired result, which also holds a plus as you can get a lot of work done in the mean time. For the below recipe the amount of herbs, olive oil and cheese can be altered according to individual’s taste. So if you are looking for any perfect appetizer or snack for a tea evening or for friends and family gathering then recipe should do the job. So my tea time went well with a good slice of the bread, so what about yours?
Can we turn it a good one too? So lets get to the making!
[sam id=”1″ codes=”true”]
Ingredients For dough
All purpose flour – 2 cups
Water – ¾ cup
Yeast – 1 tsp
Sugar – ½ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Ingredients For seasoning
Olive oil – 2 tsp +2 tsp
Herbs – 1 tbsp (oregano, rosemary, thyme)
Parmesan cheese powder – 1 tbsp
Paprika – 1/4 tsp (optional)
Note
* 1 cup = 160 ml
[sam id=”2″ codes=”true”]
How to make focaccia bread with step by step images
Take ¾ cup warm water in a cup, add yeast and sugar. Mix well and keep it aside undisturbed for 10 minutes until frothy.
Now in a bowl add all purpose flour, salt, oil and frothy yeast mixture. Mix everything well and knead it into soft dough. ( I required a 1 tbsp water more for making dough).
Cover the dough and keep it aside for 2 hours. ( This rest time will help dough to double in size and will create aeration).
After 2 hours you will notice the dough doubled in size. Knead it once gently and keep it aside.
Now take a baking tray/pan add few drops of olive oil and grease it thoroughly and keep it aside.
Now keep the bread dough on the greased pan. Stretch and spread it in the pan/tray with fingers as shown in the above picture. Now cover the baking tray with a cloth and set it aside for an hour.
Preheat oven at 475 F. Now remove the cloth after 1 hour and you will notice the dough risen, now using index finger make holes in the dough, I made 4 holes per row, you can make as may you like.
Now add some olive oil on the dough and spread it gently using basting brush. Now sprinkle herbs and cheese powder on it.
Now keep the baking tray in the preheated oven and bake it for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes take the focaccia bread out of the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack. When the bread is completely cooled slice it using knife and serve it with paprika garnished!