Focaccia With Peppers, Olives, and Pecorino Cheese
Miss me? Course you have. I've been up at the cottage all week. I had a grand old time, as always, but somehow I just couldn't keep my mind off of you, my dear readers. I can only imagine how bland your lives have been without me. So I have finally come home. I'm just self-sacrificing like that.
xoxoxoxoxo |
Seriously though, don't worry too much about my new regimen. I'm notorious for failing to follow through with decisions. Especially when they involve self-sacrifice (I was just kidding about being self-sacrificing a few paragraphs ago). Even if it were to stick though, I don't think even you, my gluttonous friends, could complain about something like this focaccia.
Focaccia
Adapted from Amy's Bread
For Biga:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (105º-115º)
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
Stir together and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours or until more than doubled in volume.
For the Bread:
1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups biga (see above)
4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons milk
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
For the Toppings:
A few tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 cups Pecorino Cheese (parmesan would be great too if that's all you have around)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 can of olives, sliced (I cut them in half)
Kosher salt
Make the biga the night before. In the morning, mix together the warm water and yeast. Let sit for about three minutes. Mix together the biga and yeast mixture with your fingers. Add the flour and kneed or mix in a stand mixer with a dough hook for about five minutes until smooth and stretchy. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 minutes.
Now add the milk, oil, and salt and kneed or mix in the stand mixer for about 7 to 10 minutes or until smooth and stretchy. Let rise for 1 hour.
Fold the dough by pulling both sides to the middle, then folding it in half. Let it rise again for another hour or until almost doubled.
Pour onto a greased baking sheet (17 x 12 inches). Gently spread it to the edges of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 425º. Top the dough with the olive oil, a little kosher salt, the cheese, red bell pepper, and olives. You can just throw on the toppings if your lazy. Don't feel like you have to make any sort of design. After the bread has been rising on the sheet for half an hour, you can bake it.
Bake for 15 minutes at 425º and then reduce the heat to 350º and bake for 15 to 20 more minutes or until golden brown.
So to summaraize:
- Make the biga the night before.
- In the morning, kneed biga, yeast, and water for 5 minutes.
- Rest for 20 minutes.
- Add milk, flour, and salt, kneed for 7-10 minutes.
- Rise for one hour.
- Fold and rise for another hour.
- Prepare in pan and let rise for half an hour.
- Bake 15 minutes at 425º and then 15-20 minutes at 350º.
Olive oil. |
Submitted to Yeast Spotting
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