Braided Lavender Focaccia Bread Food

BRAIDED LAVENDER FOCACCIA BREAD

Steps:

• Put all Dry ingredients in a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, Mix.
• Add warm water and Olive Oil and knead with your hands or on medium low for 4-5 minutes.
• Oil a large bowl and place dough into the bowl cover with a dish towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for 1.5-2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 400F, oil a large baking sheet.
• Once the dough has doubled in size divide the dough into three equal size balls, roll the balls into 12-13 inch ropes. Place them all side by side with about an inch of space in between each. Join all three ends at one end and begin your braid. Once you have your braid, tuck ends slightly under so they don't fray out when baked.
• Drizzle with Olive Oil, salt and a little lavender.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until bread is nice and golden on top.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl in a warm, not hot or cool, place until the yeast is bubbling and aromatic, at least 15 minutes.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 1/2 cup olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes on a medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft. Give it a sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.
• Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface, then knead it by hand 1 or 2 times. Again, give it another sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.
• Coat the inside of the mixer bowl lightly with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
• Coat a jelly roll pan with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. (Chef's Note: This may seem excessive, but focaccia is an oily crusted bread. This is why it is soooooooooo delicious!).
• Put the dough onto the jelly roll pan and begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pan. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make finger holes all the way through the dough. (Chef's Note: Yes, this is strange. But when the dough rises again it will create the characteristic craggy looking focaccia. If you do not make the actual holes in the dough, the finished product will be very smooth.)
• Put the dough in the warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Liberally sprinkle the top of the focaccia with some coarse sea salt and lightly drizzle a little oil on top. Bake the dough until the top of the loaf is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and let it cool before cutting and serving.
• Oh baby!

LAVENDER & OLIVE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in the honey; let stand for 5 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons oil, salt and remaining warm water. Add 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down; divide in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape each portion into a 9-in. circle. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make several 1/4-in. indentations in each loaf. Combine the olives, lavender, garlic and remaining oil; brush over loaves. Sprinkle with kosher salt. , Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

ITALIAN HERB BRAID

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix 1 1/4 C flour, sugar, yeast, oregano, thyme and salt.
• In another bowl, combine water, butter and milk.
• Microwave until 130 degrees f. Gradually add to dry ingredients.
• Beat 2 minutes at medium, then 2 minutes on high.
• With spoon, stir in enough flour to make soft elastic dough. Knead in adequate flour so that the dough is not sticky. (About 4 minutes.)
• Divide dough into thirds and roll each into a 24" rope.
• Braid three ropes and tuck ends under.
• Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Place on greased baking sheet over a shallow pan half full of boiling water. Cover and let rise 25 minutes.
• Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.
• Cool on rack.

COTTAGE CHEESE LAVENDER HERB BREAD (ABM)

Steps:

• Place all ingredients except cornmeal in bread pan of your bread machine as manufacturer reccomenda. Select dough setting and press start.
• When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. (I use a nonstick cooking spray. Form dough into an oval, cover with a plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
• After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten. For baguettes (long, slender) or boules (round), divide the dough into 2 pieces and shape. For baguettes, fold dough into an envelope by folding the top 1/3 of the way to the bottom. Then fold the bottom a 1/3 of the way over the top. Then press dough with the palm of your hand to make an indentation down the center of the dough and fold the top completely to the bottom, sealing the seam with the palm of your hand.
• Place on a jelly roll pan dusted with cornmeal. Cover and place in a warm spot to rise until the dough is doubled in bulk, approximately 30 to 50 minutes (depending on how warm your room is).
• Oven Rising:.
• Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again. This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can't comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit.
• Cool or Refrigerator Rise:.
• If I don't have the time to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After rising, slash or score the loaves with a very sharp knife making three 1/2-inch deep diagonal slashes. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped.

LAVENDER FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Lightly oil a large baking sheet. On a work surface, roll pizza dough out into an 8 x 14 rectangle.
• Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with a clean dish towel, let rise at room temperature for 20 minute Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°.
• After final rising on baking sheet, make dimples in dough with finger tips. Brush on 2 Tbsp olive oil; then add mixture of: lavender, rosemary, garlic, and olives.
• Press into place, sprinkle with coarse salt and black pepper to taste. Bake 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Cut into pieces to serve. Enjoy!