What does house cleaning have to do with focaccia bread?
We need to throw parties more often. We’ll be hosting one soon and it has turned me into a whirling dervish in my off moments cleaning and organizing our house. No one invited is particularly tall, which is too bad, because the top of our refrigerator is now gleaming. Wood molding around the floors and doors is sparkling clean. I used old toothbrushes to clean the corners of our bathrooms. Light fixtures were washed in hot soapy water and dried. Mirrors and windows are crystal clear and our linen closet looks like a marine folded and stacked the contents. Is this unusual behavior for me? Not really – I’m just more motivated than usual.
Yesterday I got waaaay too carried away when I opened a new, unnecessary can of worms. I decided to go through several drawers of our file cabinets looking for material to toss. (This had now turned into more of a spring cleaning/purging thing than getting ready for friends who could care less about my document organization.) I created a large pile of stuff to shred or recycle, and found one old folder after another labeled “recipes”. This, of course, slowed the job down considerably. I took the time to sit back on the couch and look through all of them. Lo and behold I found the recipe for focaccia bread that I had lost 10 years ago.
Five minutes later the few ingredients were in my mixing bowl and the dough hook was attached. I could hardly wait to taste this salty, slightly sweet, chewy and savory bread again.
Ah, my friends, this is a superb and simple recipe. We ate half a pan yesterday while it was still warm. The olive oil made the corners crunchy. During the rain, we built a fire outdoors, and you can see me offering my husband a warm piece as he tends the flames. Today we split squares of this bread and filled it with turkey and pieces of romaine lettuce for lunch.
If you’re looking for a great recipe for focaccia bread, I highly recommend this one.
One last note, in the upcoming weeks, this blog may show some precious, long forgotten recipes from my archives.
2-3 tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped (I used thyme and rosemary)
Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a mixer. Using the dough hook, mix the ingredients to combine. Slowly add the water and continue kneading for 5 minutes. After the dough has kneaded, turn it onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a few strokes by hand and then shape the dough into a ball. Place dough in large bowl, well oiled with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a draft free spot to rise until double in size, 1 to 2 hours.
Lightly spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick spray. Pour the dough into the pan stretch to fit. It doesn’t matter if you tear a few holes or get vigorous – it is forgiving. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let dough rise again, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil over dough. Dimple dough with your fingers. Sprinkle top with kosher salt and herbs. Bake for about 15 (possibly longer), until lightly browned. Cut into pieces and serve.
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