Potato Tomato Focaccia Food

POTATO FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, sugar, and milk in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 1/2 cup of the flour. Stir well, cover with a towel, and let rest in a warm place for 25 minutes.
• Mix in the olive oil, salt, and 1 cup of flour, until well incorporated. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough adheres to the hook. It should remain soft and slightly sticky. Continue mixing for about 6 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Remove from the bowl, shape the dough into a ball, flatten slightly, and put into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a towel and put in a warm place for about 1 hour, to let the dough rise until doubled.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook slowly until very crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Reserve the pancetta and fat separately.
• Put the potatoes in cold salted water, cover, and bring to a boil. Cook about 8 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and place in a bowl.
• Pour the pancetta fat over the warm potatoes, add the crisped pancetta, 1 teaspoon of the rosemary, salt and pepper to taste, and the lemon zest. Toss well and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Oil a baking sheet.
• Lightly flour the dough and punch it down. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 by 10 inches. Brush off any excess flour and transfer to the oiled baking sheet. Brush the dough with olive oil and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle the potato mixture onto the dough and press it in with the flat of your hand. Press your fingers into the dough to make evenly spaced indentations all over the surface, being careful not to puncture or tear the dough. Scatter the remaining rosemary over the dough.
• Bake for about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown and the bread is crisp on the bottom. Let cool in the pan to room temperature. Cut into squares, "fingers," or triangles to serve.

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.

TOMATO FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Generously cover potato with salted cold water (1 teaspoon salt for 3 cups water) in a small heavy saucepan and simmer, uncovered, until just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and cool slightly, then mash until smooth.
• Stir together warm water and sugar in bowl of mixer. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
• Add potato and 1/4 cup oil to yeast and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Remove paddle attachment and attach dough hook, then beat in 4 cups flour and 1 tablespoon sea salt at medium-high speed until combined well, about 3 minutes. (Dough will be very soft and sticky.)
• Transfer to a well-floured surface and knead in remaining 1/4 cup flour with lightly floured hands until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. (Dough will still be very soft and sticky.)
• Scrape dough into a lightly oiled large bowl and cover bowl with oiled plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Generously oil a 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan.
• Punch down dough (do not knead) and transfer to baking pan, then gently stretch to cover as much of bottom as possible (dough may not fit exactly).
• Cover dough with oiled plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third.
• Arrange tomatoes on focaccia (do not overlap), then sprinkle with oregano and remaining 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup oil.
• Bake until center is firm, top is pale golden, and underside is golden (lift to check), 20 to 25 minutes.
• Loosen focaccia from pan with a spatula and slide onto a rack to cool slightly. Cut into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.

POTATO ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a small bowl sprinkle the yeast over 1 cup warm water and let it proof for 5 minutes, or until it is foamy. In a large bowl combine well 4 cups of the flour with the mashed potatoes and the salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal, add the yeast mixture, and stir the dough until it is combined well. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it, incorporating as much of the remaining 1/2 cup flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball, put it in an oiled bowl, and turn it to coat it with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is double in bulk. While the dough is rising, in a small bowl stir together the garlic, the rosemary, and the oil and let the mixture stand, covered. Turn the dough out into a well-oiled 15 1/2- by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan, press it evenly into the pan, and let it rise, covered loosely, in a warm place for 45 minutes or less, or until it is almost double in bulk. Using a mandoline or hand-held slicer cut the red potatoes into paper-thin slices, arrange the slices on the dough, overlapping them, and brush them with the oil mixture, discarding the garlic. Sprinkle the focaccia with salt and pepper to taste and bake it in the bottom third of a preheated 400°F. oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it is golden. Let the focaccia cool in the pan on a rack and serve it warm or at room temperature.

POTATO TOMATO FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Lightly grease 10 by 15 in.
• rimmed cookie sheet or jellyroll pan.
• Combine oil, garlic, and rosemary; cover& set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together water, yeast,& sugar; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir together flour& salt and gradually stir into yeast mix until it forms a soft dough.
• Mix in tomatoes.
• On a lightly floured surface (with floured hands), knead dough 5 min.
• or until smooth/elastic, and shape into ball.
• Invert the large bowl used to mix the dough over the dough ball and let it rest 10 min.
• ROll out dough into a 13 by 9 in.
• rectangle on the surface and transfer to baking pan, pressing into corners.
• Let dough rise, covered loosely with plastic wrap/towel, in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30 min.) Preheat oven to 400F.
• Once dough has risen, make little divots all over the dough with your fingers, making sure the dough is pressed to the edges of the pan.
• Slice the potatoes paper- thin and arrange them, overlapping, on the dough.
• Brush the potatoes with oil mix, leaving garlic slices in bowl.
• Sprinkle fococcia w/ s&p and bake for 40- 50min.
• or until golden.
• Let it cool in the pan on a rack.
• When cool, remove the bread to a board and cut into 2 in.
• squares.