Simple Rosemary Focaccia by Bridget

Freshly baked bread is one of my very favorite things on this earth. To me, there is no food more comforting than warm bread fresh from the oven. Oh, and the scent of rising and baking bread dough … Ah! It’s the best. Yay, bread.

Focaccia is a simple—and fun to make—bread that goes perfectly with an Italian dinner, wine and cheese, a salad, olives and hummus, or even sliced horizontally for a sandwich.

The key to focaccia is olive oil. It’s in the dough itself, it coats the bottom of the baking pan, and it’s drizzled on top, pooling into the divots. The resulting bread is rich with a buttery olive taste. The bottom is a bit crunchy and chewy while the interior is soft.

 
 

Today we’re keeping the topping simple: rosemary, sea salt, and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Other classic focaccia topping include olives, thinly sliced tomatoes, Parmesan, basil, or caramelized onions.

I love fleur de sel, but you can use any sea salt that has a little crunch. That crunch is so heavenly. Skip the red pepper if you don’t like the heat. There isn’t enough here to make it super spicy, though; it just adds a little more flavor.

 
 

Remember when we talked about instant yeast? We’re using it here. Just throw all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl—no proofing required.

 
 

Once the ingredients come together, switch to a dough hook and let it knead for you. Yes, you can knead by hand. Focaccia dough is a sticky dough, so I find the mixer makes it easier and keeps me from adding too much additional flour.

 
 

Once the dough is kneaded, place it in an oiled bowl.

 
 

Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap that’s been oiled as well.

 
 

After about an hour, the dough will be nice and puffy. Ah. It smells so incredible.

 
 

Press the dough onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, coated with a good bit of olive oil and sprinkled with a little cornmeal. (Parchment is not essential, but since focaccia is such a sticky dough, I like the extra assurance that the bread won’t stick to the pan.)

Cover again with oil-coated plastic wrap and let it rest about 20 minutes.

 
 

Drizzle with olive oil, chopped rosemary, sea salt, and red pepper. Then use your fingers to create divots throughout the dough. (This is the fun part!)

 
 

Isn’t it pretty?

 
 

Bake the bread until golden. Serve warm.

 
 

Dig in!