Herbed Rosemary Potato Focaccia Recipes

ROSEMARY HERB & POTATO FOCACCIA BREAD

Steps:

• In a bowl or stand mixer, combine warm water, sugar, yeast, salt, and about ¾ of the all-purpose flour. Mix until combined and then knead in a stand mixer with a dough hook or on a lightly floured countertop. Add the remaining flour in small quantities as needed. Knead for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Tip: While kneading, add as little flour as possible while ensuring the dough isn't too wet to work with. The more moist the dough, the better the finished product will turn out. It's easier to keep the dough moist if using a stand mixer.
• Coat dough ball with a little bit of olive oil and place in a large bowl covered with a damp kitchen towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).Tip: Speed up the rising process by placing the bowl somewhere slightly warm (e.g. on top of a running dishwasher). Ensure it's not too warm or you risk cooking the dough while it rises.
• Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your pan (I used a 10" cast-iron pan). Drizzle the parchment paper with olive oil.
• After the dough has risen, punch it down and form it into the parchment paper-lined pan. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size (about 40-60 minutes).
• While the dough rises, preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) and prepare the toppings. Slice the Creamer potatoes, shallot, and garlic into slices just under ¼" (½ cm) thick. Strip the rosemary from the stem but do not cut it.
• After the dough has risen, dimple it with your finger 8-10 times. Drizzle the surface and dimples with olive oil. Fill each dimple with a piece of rosemary and a slice of garlic. Top the dough with slices of Creamer potato, shallots, garlic, and pieces of rosemary. Drizzle a little extra olive oil over the Creamer potato slices. Sprinkle with a liberal amount of sea salt.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the focaccia is golden brown but the topping are brown but not burnt.
• Allow the focaccia bread to come to room temperature before slicing into it. Tip: Enjoy the focaccia within a few hours for best flavour. The rosemary will become more pungent the longer the focaccia sits.

GARLIC ROSEMARY HERB FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Whisk half of the water (1 cup; 240ml), 2 teaspoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Add the remaining water, olive oil, salt, and 1 cup (130g) flour. Beat on low speed for 20 seconds, then add 3 and 1/2 cups (440g) more flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. If the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the last 1/2 cup (60g) of flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 4-5 full minutes. The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. If the dough is too sticky as you knead, add more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time. The dough should still feel a little soft, but shouldn't stick your hands. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with a teaspoon of oil or some nonstick spray- just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it's doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
• Generously grease a 12×17 inch baking pan (with at least 1 inch tall sides) with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. This is the base layer of the bread, so be generous with the oil. A pastry brush is helpful to spread it.
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Place on the oiled baking pan, then stretch and flatten the dough to fit the pan. Don't tear the dough. If it's shrinking (mine always does), cover it with a clean towel and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before continuing. This lets the gluten settle and it's much easier to shape after that.
• Cover the dough tightly and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. The longer it rests, the better the flavor. I recommend at least 12 hours.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature as you preheat the oven and prepare the toppings. Keep it covered. It may rise a little during this time, but not much.
• Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C). Allow it to heat for at least 10-15 minutes so every inch of the oven is very hot.
• Whisk the 3 remaining Tablespoons of olive oil with the minced garlic and herbs. Set aside.
• Using your fingers, dimple the dough all over the surface. You can watch me do this in the video above. Drizzle on the olive oil topping and use your hands or a pastry brush to spread it all over the top. Add a little more olive oil if needed so the dough is completely covered. (This creates the crisp crust!) Sprinkle with a little coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake for 20-23 minutes or until lightly browned on top. If desired, broil on high for the last minute to really brown the top.
• Cut and serve hot or let it come to room temperature before slicing and serving. Focaccia tastes wonderful warm or at room temperature. Cover leftover focaccia tightly and store at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. You can also freeze the baked and cooled focaccia for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. To reheat the slices, you can use the microwave or bake in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 5 minutes.

DELICIOUSLY EASY GARLIC HERB FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Place 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, bread flour, white sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and active dry yeast, respectively, in the pan of a bread machine. Select pizza cycle; press Start.
• Combine crushed garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside to let it steep, about 30 minutes.
• Combine Parmesan cheese, parsley, onion powder, and herbes de Provence in another small bowl.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.
• Deflate dough and turn out into the baking sheet. Stretch dough gently out to 1/2-inch thickness, using your fingers to make dimples that will hold the toppings.
• Pour garlic and oil mixture onto dough and spread it evenly over the dough and edges with your hands. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle dough with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer from the baking sheet to a rack. Let cool, 5 minutes. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter.

POTATO ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a small bowl sprinkle the yeast over 1 cup warm water and let it proof for 5 minutes, or until it is foamy. In a large bowl combine well 4 cups of the flour with the mashed potatoes and the salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal, add the yeast mixture, and stir the dough until it is combined well. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it, incorporating as much of the remaining 1/2 cup flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball, put it in an oiled bowl, and turn it to coat it with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is double in bulk. While the dough is rising, in a small bowl stir together the garlic, the rosemary, and the oil and let the mixture stand, covered. Turn the dough out into a well-oiled 15 1/2- by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan, press it evenly into the pan, and let it rise, covered loosely, in a warm place for 45 minutes or less, or until it is almost double in bulk. Using a mandoline or hand-held slicer cut the red potatoes into paper-thin slices, arrange the slices on the dough, overlapping them, and brush them with the oil mixture, discarding the garlic. Sprinkle the focaccia with salt and pepper to taste and bake it in the bottom third of a preheated 400°F. oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it is golden. Let the focaccia cool in the pan on a rack and serve it warm or at room temperature.

FOCACCIA BREAD HERBED WITH BLACK OLIVE & FRESH ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Cover potato with cold water in medium saucepan.
• Simmer until potato is tender.
• Drain, reserving cooking liquid.
• Mash potato.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup warm (NOT HOT) potato water with dissolved 1 tablespoon sugar in small bowl, mix together.
• Let stand until the yeast begins to act, about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the yeast mixture.
• In a food processor add together the flours, potato and salt.
• Pulse 4 times.
• With the machine running slowly pour through feed tube the yeast mixture.
• Adding rest of water to make a ball of dough in the machine.
• (Be careful not to over add the water) Use only enough water so the dough comes into a ball and away from sides of bowl.
• Knead for 1 minute in food processor.
• Turn out on a floured surface, and knead just until smooth.
• Keep the dough soft.
• Pour 1/2 teaspoon of the oil into a clean bowl.
• Place the dough in the bowl, turning once to oil the top.
• Cover.
• Let rise until doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Punch the dough down.
• Use 1 teaspoon of the oil to coat a baking sheet, and place the dough on the baking sheet.
• Gently press the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
• Pour the remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons oil over the top of the dough.
• Use your knuckle to dimple the dough at 1-1/2 inch intervals.
• Sprinkle with the rosemary, black olives and the cheese.
• Place in a cold oven on the center shelf.
• Place a flat pan of hot water on the shelf below the bread.
• Let rise until doubled, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Sprinkle with salt to taste.
• Turn on the oven to 375°F.
• Bake the focaccia for 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned on top.
• Remove from the pan, and cool on a wire rack.
• Serve warm.