Peter Reinhart's Focaccia

I've been dying to make focaccia for several weeks now, but according to Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice, it's a 2-day process. I made focaccia in culinary school, and again at Baker Street Bread Company (I worked there for 3 months for an internship), and I love LOVE LOVE focaccia.

But with all the bread-making experience, I still don't fully understand the process, so I'm always nervous making bread.

This is one of the easiest yeast breads I've ever made. It's DELICIOUS! Crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, moist but not dripping with oil.

Peter Reinhart's Focaccia

Makes 1 12x17 focaccia

Ingredients

• 22.5 oz bread or high-gluten flour (5 cups)
• 1/2 oz kosher salt (2 tsp)
• 1/4 oz instant yeast (2 tsp) (I used SAF Instant Yeast*)
• 3 oz olive oil (6 tbsp)
• 16 oz room temperature water, 72 to 77 degrees (2 cups)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Herb Oil (see bottom of post)

Directions

1. Measure flour into mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer. Measure salt onto one side of flour, and yeast onto the other side (if the two touch now, the salt will kill the yeast). Mix on low speed with paddle attachment, adding the water and the olive oil, for about 3 to 5 minutes, until it comes together in a smooth, sticky dough.
2. Switch to the dough hook attachment, and knead on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, until dough forms a smooth, sticky ball which clears the sides of the bowl, but sticks to the bottom. You may need to lighlty add additional flour to make the dough firm enough to form a ball, but it should be very soft and sticky.
3. Sprinkle a 6x6-inch square of flour on your countertop, and using a bowl scraper, remove the dough to the floured counter. Dust liberally with bread flour, and pat into a rectangle. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Coat your hands in flour and stretch the dough from each end to twice its size. Fold each end over itself, like folding a letter and give it a quarter turn (90-degree turn). Dust with flour, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
5. Repeat Step 3 two more times, the last time allowing the covered dough to ferment on the counter for 1 hour. The dough will swell, but not double in size.
6. Line a 17x12-inch sheet pan with parchment paper, and drizzle about 1/4 cup of olive oil onto the paper, and spread it around with your hands or a pastry brush. With oiled hands, gently lift the dough onto the parchment, maintaining the rectangular shape. Spoon half of your herb oil onto the dough.
7. Use your fingertips to simultaneously dimple the dough and spread it to fill the pan. Use ONLY your fingertips! Keep the thickness as uniform as possible, for even baking. If dough springs back too much, allow to rest for 15 minutes, then continue. Don't worry too much about filling the pan entirely — when the dough proofs, it will naturally fill out the pan. Use more herb oil as needed to cover the entire surface of the dough. Loosely cover the pan in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days).
8. Remove the pan from the refrigerator 3 hours before baking. Drizzle additional herb oil over the dough surface and dimple it in. It will look like a lot of oil if you use the remainder of the 1/2 cup, but it will absorb into the bread during baking. Add any pre-proof toppings now^†. Cover with the pan with plastic again and proof the dough at room temperature for 3 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
9. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and place a rack on the middle shelf. Gently place any prebake toppings on the dough^†.
10. Place the pan in the oven. Lower the temperature to 450 and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees and continue baking for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the focaccia becomes a light golden brown. If you are using any during-bake toppings^†, sprinkle them on at this point and continue baking another 5 minutes.
11. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately transfer the focaccia out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Remove the parchment from the bottom of the focaccia, if it sticks.
12. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

NOTE: If you like a more crusty, chewier focaccia, reduce oven temp to 400 degrees, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer. This is the baking method that I used.

* I bought a one-pound bag of SAF Instant Yeast from King Arthur Flour. I keep it inside an airtight plastic jar in my freezer. You can add instant yeast directly to the dough straight from the freezer - no need to come to room temperature.

^† Pre-proof toppings: sun-dried tomatoes, olives, roasted garlic, fresh herbs, walnuts, pine nuts, sautéed mushrooms, red or green peppers, or onions; pre-bake toppings: blue or fresh mozzarella or feta cheese, cooked ground meat or meat strips, coarse salt; during-bake toppings: dry or semihard cheese like Parmesan, Romano, regular mozzarella, Jack, Cheddar, or Swiss.

Herb Oil

Makes 2 cups

Herb Oil can be stored, refrigerated, for 2 weeks

Ingredients

• 2 cups olive oil
• Your choice of: 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, savory and/or sage); 1/3 cup dried herbs or herb blend such as herbes de Provence; combination of fresh and dried herbs
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 5 to 6 cloves pressed garlic

Warm olive oil to 100 degrees, then add whatever flavorings you choose, and allow them to steep in the oil. The flavors will infuse the oil.