Homemade Rosemary, Tomato and Olive Focaccia

One of my favorite hobbies is cooking.  Cooking is my destresser.  After a long day at work, I look forward to coming home to my little kitchen and creating a home-cooked meal.  (An added bonus is my sous chef, Kieran, who helps me with the prep and dishes. ^_^)

I decided to try out my new KitchenAid mixer by making bread from scratch.  Not just any bread, but focaccia.  This was a tall order since this is my second attempt --- the first one did not rise and was as hard as a rock. 

The recipe was from my cooking class at San Francisco City College.  But being a rebellious cook, I made a few changes to the original recipe. 

1. Garlic-rosemary oil:

    - 6 cloves of garlic, minced
    - 1 rosemary sprig
    - 2 tsp of dried chili pepper
    - 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
    - In a small sauce pan, combine the ingredients and cook under medium-low heat till the garlic is golden.   Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  (You can prepare this a day in advance.)


2. Bread dough:

- Dissolve 1 package of dry active yeast in 2 cups of warm water for approx. 10 minutes
- Add 2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 tsp of salt and the yeast solution into the mixer bowl
- Using the kneading hook, mix the ingredient on low setting
- Gradually add an additional 3 cups of flour to the mixture (1 cup at a time)
- Mix the dough till everything is combined (about 3-5 minutes)
- Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it for another 2 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large bowl.  Smear 2 tablespoon of the garlic oil around the dough
- Place the bowl in a warm water bath (e.g., a pan with warm water).  Cover the bowl with saran wrap and a warm moist towel for 1 hr. till the dough doubles in size.

3. Toppings:

    - 3 sliced Roma tomatoes: In a small bowl, combine the sliced tomatoes with 2 tsp of dried basil, 1 tsp of coarse salt, 1 tsp of dried peppers.  Let the mixed ingredient sit for about 5 minutes, then drain it with some paper towels
    - Sliced olives
    - Chopped rosemary
    - Coarse sea salt

4. Assembling the bread:

    - Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
    - Once the dough has double in size, punch the dough with your fist. 
    - Generously cover the pan (9 in x 13 in) with the garlic oil
    - Using your fingers, spread the dough to the shape of the pan.
    - Sprinkle the chopped rosemary on of the bread dough
    - Lay the sliced tomatoes and olives and gently press them into the dough
    - Sprinkle some dried pepper flakes and sea salt
    - Drizzle some more garlic oil on top






5. Baking:
  - Bake the bread at 450 for 30 minutes till the bread is golden brown
  - Cool the bread on a cooling rack.  Slice the bread and use the remaining garlic oil as a dipping sauce.

The bread came out nicely this time around!  Inside was moist; golden crust was infused with the garlic-rosemary flavor; and the top had a nice texture of roasted tomatoes, olives, and crispy sea salt. 

Some things I'd like to change on the next batch of focaccia are:
    - Divide the dough in half; the pan that I used was a little small which gave it more bread to topping ratio
    - Incorporate some roasted garlic, rosemary, and olives in the dough in addition to the toppings
    - Make more garlic-rosemary oil.  It's really yummy as a general dipping sauce

I hope you try making bread at home.  Let me know if you're trying this recipe.  I'd love to know what you think!