this is dedicated to all the self-taught bakers that started during the pandemic - i see you
As the world shut down, the ovens turned on. A bread-making journey commenced as a way to distract ourselves from the encroaching reality of a global pandemic.
As the world burned so did our ovens. Along with other niche hobbies we would have never picked up if not for a ban on interacting with other humans. The focaccia trend took hold with its easy, quick, and golden, olive-oil-drenched crust. I was one of the people in this trend. Over quarantine, I baked loaf after loaf experimenting with different flavors, humidities, and proofing times. So here is my recipe for focaccia that works for me. I beg you to get creative with focaccia and add any toppings you think would be good, you really can't go wrong here.
focaccia
This is what worked best for my kitchen and my oven, you might have to do some tweaking based on your own kitchen:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp of sugar
1 Tbsp of instant dry yeast
3 1/2 cups of flour
3 Tbsp of olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp of salt
Measure 1 1/2 cups warm water, add your sugar and your yeast, stir, and let sit until it becomes foamy (about 5-10 min)
Measure out flour and salt in a large bowl
Add yeast mixture to a large bowl and add the flour in increments
Add olive oil and fold the dough with a spatula since the dough will be too wet to knead with your hands
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a lightly oiled bowl for about 2 hours in a warm place or until it has doubled in size (if I have a busy day I put mine in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight and it still works)
Place in a baking pan or cast iron pan and spread it to the edges, but don't flatten - just spread!
Let rise a second time (about 30 min)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Press your fingers into the dough making indents creating those beautiful bubbles
Drizzle with olive oil flaky salt and any other toppings you desire
Bake for about 25 min until golden
Let it cool on a rack not in the pan (it will get soggy that way)
Garlic Chili topping:
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons of hot pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of miso
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
salt
dash of lemon juice
feta cheese
dash of rosemary
Grate garlic cloves and add all the ingredients to the olive oil and drizzle on during your second rise before you pop it into the oven. Crumble the feta cheese on top and bake.
Creative tip: Spice the dough! When you're adding salt to the flour, add smoked paprika, rosemary, parmesan cheese, or garlic powder! This levels up your bread game and enhances your crust and topping!
xoxo your garlic gurl