Focaccia With Fresh Tomatoes Food

BASIL-PARMESAN FOCACCIA WITH FRESH TOMATOES

Steps:

• Place the chopped onion in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. After 15 seconds, drain and blot dry with paper towels. Set aside.
• Combine the yeast with the half-cup of water. Add one and a half cups of the flour and mix. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and knead it for about eight minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Pour one tablespoon of the olive oil in a bowl, add the dough, turning once to cover with the oil. Drape a lightly dampened towel over the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk. This will take one and a half hours with rapid-rise yeast, or three hours with regular yeast.
• Punch down the dough, add the onion, a quarter-cup of water, three tablespoons of olive oil, the cup of Parmesan cheese, the remaining flour, the basil and two teaspoons salt, and mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead it for eight minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic, adding small amounts of additional flour if needed.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Roll the dough into a large circle measuring about 15 inches in diameter and about a quarter-inch thick, and transfer it to a heavy cookie sheet. Using your fingertips, make several indentations in the dough, so the surface is irregular. Brush with two tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle on two teaspoons of coarse salt. Bake in the top half of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the focaccia is golden brown and crisp. (You may prepare the recipe ahead to this point, but leave the baked focaccia at room temperature.)
• To prepare the topping, combine the olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Lay the sliced tomatoes in an overlapping pattern on the focaccia and spoon the olive-oil mixture over them. Return the focaccia to the oven for two minutes. Sprinkle with three tablespoons of Parmesan and return the focaccia to the oven just until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, about one to two minutes. Remove from the oven and cut into large slices. Serve.

FRESH FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Place the water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar, sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it bloom until bubbly, 5 to 15 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, combine the 4 cups all-purpose flour and the wheat flour together with the salt and chopped rosemary. Gradually add the flour mixture to the bloomed yeast in the stand mixer. Then add 1/2 cup of the olive oil.
• Using the dough hook attachment, mix the dough on medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be very loose.
• Transfer the dough to a clean, floured surface and knead by hand for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Wipe out the stand mixer bowl and coat with some olive oil. Return the dough to the oiled bowl and let it rest in a warm place, covered with a dish towel, until doubled in size, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Oil a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. Spread the dough into the baking sheet using your fingertips to create dimples all over the dough. The more dimples you make, the more texture the bread will have.
• Brush oil all over the dough with a pastry brush and sprinkle rosemary leaves into some of the dimples. Top with the tomato slices and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Cover the dough again with the towel and let rest in a warm spot until doubled in size, another 30 minutes.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Bake the dough until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

FOCACCIA WITH FRESH TOMATOES

Steps:

• To make the sponge, place the yeast and water into a medium sized bowl, and stir to dissolve yeast. Add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or your hands for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth, and a somewhat elastic dough has formed. The starter will be thick and stretchy.
• Scrape the starter into a clear container with high sides and cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise.
• At this point you have two options. If you plan to make the dough later the same day, let the sponge rise at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it just begins to indent on top. This may take 6 to 8 hours. It will triple in volume and very small dents and folds will begin to appear in the top of the surface as it reaches its peak and begins to deflate. Make sure to use it before it sinks too much.
• If you are not planning to make the dough until the next day, let the sponge rise for 1 hour after mixing, then place it in the refrigerator and let it rise for at least 14 hours before taking it out to use. Be sure to compensate for the cold temperature of the starter by using warm water in the dough, or let it sit out, covered, until it reaches room temperature.
• To make the dough, place the yeast and water in a large bowl. Stir the yeast so it dissolves, and allow to stand for 1 minute.
• Add the sponge to the yeast mixture, and mix with your hands for 1 minute to break up the sponge. The mixture should be foamy. Add the flour and mix it in with your hands, lifting the wet mixture over the flour to incorporate it. Once the dough becomes a shaggy mass, knead in the bowl for 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Add the salt to the dough and knead briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the oil and milk, and knead gently until all the liquid has been incorporated.
• Move the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until it begins to become smooth, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky, so keep the work surface lightly floured.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough to coat it, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until almost double in size, approximately 2 hours.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• When the dough has risen, loosen it from the bowl with lightly floured hands, and pour it onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces, about 5 1/4 ounces each. Shape the dough into balls and place on the baking sheet approximately 4 inches apart. Brush each piece with olive oil, and press down gently so the bread is more like a disk than a roll. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough has almost doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Toss the slices of tomatoes in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes in a decorative fashion on the dough. With your finger tips, press down on the dough in a few places, making impressions where olive oil can gather. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil, allowing it to pool in the dimples. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven, mist the loaves with water from a spray bottle, shut the oven door, and continue to bake. Mist again one minute later.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F, and bake for 15 to 25 minutes longer, or until golden brown and crusty.
• Remove the focaccia from the oven immediately, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with fresh herbs such as basil if desired. Let cool on a cooling rack.

FRESH MOZZARELLA, BASIL, TOMATO FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Thaw and allow frozen pizza dough to rest.
• Balsamic Glaze: Put 1.5 cups aged balsamic vinegar and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring. When it becomes syrupy, take off heat and put into another dish.
• Chill for 30 minutes.
• Once frozen dough thawed and rested, stretch or roll out dough to be about 1/4 thick in an almost rectangle shape.
• Lay on pizza sheet and brush on 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle all of the dough with garlic salt and the parmesan cheese.
• Bake in a 425 degree oven for 8 minutes.
• Pull out and poke the dough several times with a fork.
• Put back into the oven for an additional 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
• Slice fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and chop basil.
• Arrange mozzarella and tomatoes on foccacia and sprinkle with lots of fresh basil. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the top. Use extra virgin or any good olive oil.
• Drizzle with Balsamic glaze and serve with extra balsamic glaze for dipping.

FOCACCIA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND GREEN GARLIC

Steps:

• Mix up the focaccia dough as directed and set in a warm spot to rise.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato-garlic topping. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan or skillet and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until it begins to smell fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, and add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly to a fragrant sauce. Stir in the thyme. Taste and adjust salt, and add pepper. Remove from the heat. For a smooth sauce, blend with an immersion blender or pulse in a food processor.
• When the focaccia dough has risen, shape as directed into 1 large focaccia or 2 smaller focacce. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably with a baking stone in it.
• Dimple the dough with your fingertips and spread the tomato sauce over the top in an even layer. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake, setting the pan on top of the baking stone (if using), for 25 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown. If using the mozzarella, tear it into small shreds. Bake the focaccia for 15 minutes, pull it from the oven and quickly scatter the mozzarella over the focaccia, then return to the oven for 10 minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely.

TOMATO-HERB FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 tablespoon oil, salt, sugar, garlic powder, herbs, pepper and 1-1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into a 13-in. x 9-in. rectangle; place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. With fingertips, make several dimples over top of dough., Brush dough with remaining oil; arrange tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Freeze option: Freeze cooled focaccia squares in freezer containers, separating layers with waxed paper. To use, reheat squares on a baking sheet in a preheated 400° oven until heated through.

TOMATO-ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450ºF.
• Beat 3 cups flour, 1/2 cup cheese, 2 Tbsp. dressing, yeast and warm water in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add remaining flour; mix well.
• Spread dough onto bottom of 15x10x1-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray; cover with damp paper towels. Let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• Press shallow indentations evenly into dough with your fingers; brush with remaining dressing. Top with tomatoes; sprinkle with rosemary and remaining cheese.
• Bake 23 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool slightly.