Focaccia is a beautiful flat-style of Italian bread with regional variants. It burst onto the bread scene in the 1980s eventually becoming infamous for unremarkable versions, then forgotten, as bread eaters switched their allegiances to Turkish pide bread. This recipe is utterly delicious, lightly textured, with a full flavour redolent of olive oil and meltingly sweet roasted garlic that won’t be forgotten.
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Once you’ve kneaded the dough you will be instructed to ‘stand until doubled in size’ and given a time. However, it can be tricky to gauge the increase in volume and the time provided is always only an approximate guide. The ‘poke test’
is a way to be assured that your dough is sufficiently proved. Gently press a finger into the dough, if the indent remains it’s ready to shape.
If not, repeat the test in 15 minutes.
Place garlic in a small saucepan over low heat; pour olive oil over garlic, making sure garlic is completely covered. Bring to a gentle simmer; cook for 20 minutes or until soft (but not mushy). Using a slotted spoon, remove garlic from oil, reserving garlic oil for another use. Cut any large cloves in half.
The dough for focaccia is soft and tacky. To fit it into the tray, use oiled hands and gently stretch the dough to expand it, so it is large enough to cover the tray. Rest the dough for 10 minutes. The dough will shrink back on itself. Repeat stretching; leave it in a warm place for 1 hour. Poke dimples into the surface of the focaccia with your fingertips for
its characteristic look.
Ingredients
Method
Garlic and rosemary focaccia
Poached garlic
This bread has so many uses. Serve it with soup or instead of sandwich bread. Use to mop up the juices of a curry or casserole, on antipasto platters or served hot from the oven with pre-dinner drinks. You can add extra toppings such as sliced olives, sun-dried tomatoes or red onion to suit your occasion.
Keep the leftover oil from the poached garlic to use in stir-fries or for marinating and grilling meat, fish and chicken.
For a variation you could omit the poached garlic and use black or green olives.
Note
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