Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread- topped with Jalapeno.

Now I know why people develop an addiction to bread making. Tried my hand on making simple Rosemary Garlic Focaccia bread with Jalapeno topping/ Focaccia al rosmarino. The entire process was really satisfying and it also taught me that patience and love can bring out the best in anything.

Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread. It usually has pillowy soft dough with a crispy golden crust, very similar in style and texture to pizza bread. It can be made with countless different toppings. Focaccia al rosmarino is a common focaccia style in Italian cuisine that may be served as an appetizer, table bread, or snack.

Ingredients:

For Proofing:

• Lukewarm Water- 1 and 1/2 cup OR 335 grams (microwave it for 30 sec)
• All purpose flour- 1 tablespoon
• Dry Active yeast- 2 teaspoon OR 7 grams
• Sugar – 1 teaspoon

I like to make a high hydration dough. Stir Dry active yeast, sugar, all purpose flour in warm water with a fork into a bowl to dissolve. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about 10-15 minutes. The foamy water is a sign that the yeast is alive. If it is not foamy then you need to discard the yeast.

Flavoured Oil– On the other side warm up 1/4 cup OR 4 tablespoon olive oil with 5 cloves of garlic (chopped) & 1 teaspoon of dry rosemary.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• All purpose flour- 3 and 1/2 cups OR 450 grams
• Salt-1 teaspoon
• Flavoured Olive oil- 4 tablespoon
• Plain Olive oil- 1 tablespoon
• Water- 2 tablespoon
• Jalapeno pepper-4 (cut into rings)

Baking Method

1. In a bigger bowl mix all purpose flour, salt, 2 tablespoons of flavoured olive oil and pour the yeast mixture into it. Mix well with a spatula until the dough absorbs all the additional water. Do not use hands for kneading. (the dough will look more like a thick batter and will stick to sides of bowl) Pour 1 Tablespoon of normal olive oil into a large (preferably glass) bowl and swirl to coat sides. Scrape in dough with a large spatula into the oil coated bowl.

2.Cover, place in room temperature, let it rest for 2–3 hours until the dough doubles in volume. After every 30 mins stretch and fold the dough from all sides, and cover again.

3. Finally after 3 hrs, oil your hands. In a sheet pan place a parchment paper and spread the dough with your hands, gently stretching it (to avoid tearing) across length and width of baking sheet in an even layer, let it rest for 1 hour again. It will double in size.

4. Then mix 2 tablespoon of water with the remaining flavoured olive oil. Pour it evenly on the dough and press fingertips firmly into dough, pushing down all the way to bottom of pan to dimple all over. Sprinkle more salt if you like on the top.

5. Bake Focaccia Bread at 450 F in a preheated oven until surface is deep golden brown. It will take 25–35 minutes. Let it cool on the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely before cutting as desired.

Try it out! Do you have any specialized bread recipes you want to share? Anything that you would like me try? Leave a comment and let me know!