Potato And Olive Focaccia Recipes

SOFT POTATO FOCACCIA BREAD

Steps:

• Boil the unpeeled potato until tender. Drain, remove skin and mash well or pass through a potato ricer.
• In the bowl of a stand up mixer add the flour, yeast, honey and salt (place salt away from the yeast) and the mashed potatoes, start to knead (on #2 speed).
• Continue to knead, add the oil, then pour the water slowly (a slow stream), continue to knead for 3-4 minutes (no higher than #3-4 speed) or until dough is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Remove to a flat lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free area for approximately 2 hours or doubled in bulk.
• Pre-heat oven to 400F (200C). Lightly oil a pizza pan. I used three 7 inch (19cm) pans.
• Divide dough and place in prepared pans, with finger tips make prints in the dough.
• To make the rosemary focaccia, sprinkle the dough with rosemary leaves, rock salt and drizzle with olive oil.To make the zucchini & cheese focaccia, top the dough with shredded zucchini, sprinkle with oregano and salt, top with shredded cheese and drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes until dough is cooked. Serve. Enjoy!

OLIVE POTATO FOCACCIA WITH ASPARAGUS MENORAH

Steps:

• For the focaccia: Peel and dice the potato into 1-inch pieces. Place in a medium stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the potato pieces can be easily pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes.
• Drain the potatoes, reserving 1 cup of the water. Let the water cool until it is warm to the touch (about 100 degrees F), about 10 minutes.
• Mash the potatoes and measure 1 packed cup. You will probably have extra potatoes; I suggest adding some salt, butter and a dash of cream and eating them!
• In a large heatproof mixing bowl, add the flour, reserved water, yeast and potatoes and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil and the salt and mix to combine.
• Knead the dough on a clean surface while adding more flour (up to 1 1/2 cups) until your dough is soft and slightly tacky, 5 to 7 minutes. Add in the olives towards the end of kneading.
• Drizzle a layer of oil in a large bowl and coat the dough in the oil on both sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• When the dough has doubled in size, add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil to a 12-inch round cast-iron skillet or a similar-sized heavy-bottomed pan to coat the pan. Spread the dough into the skillet so it covers the bottom. If it's bouncing back a lot, let the dough rest a few minutes and try again.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place, about 1 hour. Alternatively, you can let it rise in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If you refrigerate it, it won't rise as much. Bring it to room temperature before the next step.
• Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Use your fingers to make dimples in the dough and drizzle with more oil.
• For the menorah: Remove the outer darkest layer of the onion and cut into 3 thin pieces that are 1 1/2 inches long to make up the menorah stand. Dice the rest of the onion layer into 1-centimeter pieces to make a decorative border around the edge of the dough.
• Cut off one side of the red pepper, avoiding the seeds. Trim a 2-inch curved piece to be the very bottom of the menorah stand. Then trim 3 thin flatter pieces that are 1 1/2 inches long to make up the menorah stand. Dice the remaining piece of red pepper into nine 1/2-centimeter pieces to make the candle wicks that will be placed between the asparagus candles and the tomato flames.
• Trim each piece of asparagus to fit the middle of the skillet, making sure 1 piece for the shamash (lighter candle) is slightly longer and the other 8 pieces are of equal length. Place the longer shamash piece on top of the dough in the center, then arrange the other 8 asparagus pieces in a row, spacing them out evenly on each side of the shamash. The shamash should be a little taller and the other asparagus pieces should be the same height.
• Add the 9 diced red pepper pieces on top of the asparagus pieces to make the candle wicks. For the flames, slice the grape tomatoes in half lengthwise, remove all the seeds and place one of them cut-side down above each red pepper piece to make a flame (you'll have 1 grape tomato half left over).
• For the base of the menorah, place a single row of olives below the asparagus, then alternate between the thin slices of red pepper and onion in the center to make the menorah stand. Place the 2-inch curved red pepper piece at the bottom of the stand, curving downward. Finally, make a decorative border by alternating between the remaining olives and diced onion around the edge of the dough.
• Brush everything with oil and bake until very golden brown, about 30 minutes. When done, brush with even more oil and sprinkle with salt. Eat! Store leftovers tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and heat before serving.

POTATO AND OLIVE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Combine potatoes and 2 cups water in medium saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Place potatoes in large bowl and mash well; cool 10 minutes. Mix 1/2 cup cooking water and milk in small bowl. Cool to 105 to 115 degrees if necessary. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over; stir to dissolve. Let stand until yeast mixture bubbles, about 8 minutes. Using flexible spatula, stir yeast mixture into potatoes. Mix in 1 cup flour, salt, and pepper. Mix in 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time. Knead dough in bowl until smooth, sprinkling lightly with flour if sticky, about 4 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 50 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Flatten dough in bowl. Cover; chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.) Spray 2 heavy large baking sheets with nonstick spray, then brush each with olive oil. Divide dough in half. Place dough on floured surface. Flatten each to 1/2-inch thickness; sprinkle each with half of olives. Roll up dough to enclose olives and knead to distribute olives evenly, about 2 minutes. Place each piece of dough on 1 prepared sheet. Press and stretch each out to 14x10-inch rectangle. Using small sharp knife, make ten 4-inch-long cuts in each, parallel to short side and cutting through to baking sheet. Gently pull cuts open, making coarse web pattern. Brush dough with oil. Cover each loosely with plastic. Let rise until dough is slightly puffed (cuts will narrow), about 30 minutes. Position 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third; preheat to 425 degrees. Bake breads 15 minutes. Reverse sheets; bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer breads to racks and cool. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

POTATO FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, sugar, and milk in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 1/2 cup of the flour. Stir well, cover with a towel, and let rest in a warm place for 25 minutes.
• Mix in the olive oil, salt, and 1 cup of flour, until well incorporated. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough adheres to the hook. It should remain soft and slightly sticky. Continue mixing for about 6 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Remove from the bowl, shape the dough into a ball, flatten slightly, and put into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a towel and put in a warm place for about 1 hour, to let the dough rise until doubled.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook slowly until very crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Reserve the pancetta and fat separately.
• Put the potatoes in cold salted water, cover, and bring to a boil. Cook about 8 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and place in a bowl.
• Pour the pancetta fat over the warm potatoes, add the crisped pancetta, 1 teaspoon of the rosemary, salt and pepper to taste, and the lemon zest. Toss well and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Oil a baking sheet.
• Lightly flour the dough and punch it down. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 by 10 inches. Brush off any excess flour and transfer to the oiled baking sheet. Brush the dough with olive oil and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle the potato mixture onto the dough and press it in with the flat of your hand. Press your fingers into the dough to make evenly spaced indentations all over the surface, being careful not to puncture or tear the dough. Scatter the remaining rosemary over the dough.
• Bake for about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown and the bread is crisp on the bottom. Let cool in the pan to room temperature. Cut into squares, "fingers," or triangles to serve.

POTATO FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking pan, and spread all over using fingertips; set aside. Place half the potatoes in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water; place over high heat. Add 3 teaspoons salt when water comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook until potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving liquid. Pass through a potato ricer or a food mill and into a bowl; set aside.
• Place 1/4 cup reserved warm liquid into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Sprinkle in yeast, and stir well; let stand until creamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups more reserved liquid, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the reserved mashed potatoes; beat until combined. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; add to potato mixture. Mix on low speed until flour is incorporated, about 3 minutes. Change to the dough hook, and knead on medium-high until dough is smooth and elastic and is slightly tacky when squeezed but does not stick to fingers, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a clean surface, and knead into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread dough evenly in the prepared baking pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until dough has filled the entire pan and has increased in size by about one-third, about 30 minutes.
• Using a mandoline or a knife, slice remaining potatoes into very thin rounds. Transfer to a bowl. Add half the rosemary and 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat potatoes well.
• Remove plastic wrap; dimple dough with fingertips, leaving deep indentations. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Gently press reserved sliced potatoes into dough. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven; transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.