Rustic Focaccia Food

THE BEST FOCACCIA

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook on low speed, stir in the warm water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, mixing until the flour is completely moistened. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Add the salt and knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. (The dough will tighten up, then begin to relax. After 5 minutes it will be very wet and stick to the bottom of the mixer but not the sides.)
• Rub 2 tablespoons olive oil around the bottom and sides of a large mixing bowl (big enough to hold at least double the volume of the dough). Using a scraper or spatula, transfer the dough to the bowl, flipping once to coat completely with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil into the bottom of an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Use your hands to evenly distribute the oil along the bottom and up the sides. Scrape the dough into the baking sheet, flattening it slightly with your hands. Flip the dough once and gently stretch it to fit into an even layer in the baking sheet. (The dough may not stretch to the edges at this point. If it starts to pull back, let rest 10 minutes and re-stretch, making sure to pull from the center as well as the edges to get an even thickness.) Use your fingertips to make dimples over the surface of the focaccia, pressing firmly but not so hard you make holes in the dough.
• For the brine and finish: Dissolve the kosher salt in 1/3 cup warm water. Drizzle over the surface of the focaccia, letting it pool in the dimples. Cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to relax and rise again.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through, until the focaccia is deep golden brown on the top and bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Drizzle with the olive oil and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to remove the focaccia to a wire rack to cool completely.

RUSTIC FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place unrolled pizza crust into pizza pan, roll to the edges of the pan.
• Mixing well, combine the oil, seasoning mix and garlic.
• Spread over pie crust.
• Top with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
• Sprinkle olives and onions over the mixture, then top with tomatoes and remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with Parmesan cheese and additional Italian seasoning mix (to taste).
• Bake until the crust is golden brown, and the cheese is melted, about 23-26 minutes.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

RUSTIC SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• To Make the dough:.
• Place all ingredients for dough, except for the tablespoon of flour in the machine and run the dough cycle.
• Add more water if necessary to for a very wet dough that barely holds its shape and does not leave the bottom of the pan. (I've never had to do this).
• At the end of the cycle, remove the bucket from the bread machine, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-18 hours (Note: the recipe as originally written said here to sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the dough before covering and refrigerating. That might be required if the dough were likely to rise and touch the plastic wrap, but I've never had that happen after making this recipe many, many times [Unless making multiple recipes, I always refrigerate in the bread machine bucket]. If you transfer the dough to a not-so-large bowl and are concerned about it, by all means, sprinkle away).
• If you don't have a bread machine and want to use a stand mixer:.
• - Put all the ingredients, starting with the starter, in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• - Mix on low, starting with the paddle attachment for 20 minutes. Feel free to switch to a dough hook when you feel it's appropriate.
• - Allow to rise for 90 minutes.
• - Mix for one minute and then proceed as directed above.
• To Finish the Focaccia:.
• Pour the dough into a 9x13" baking pan that has been prepared with olive oil and corn meal.
• Cover the dough with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 hours.
• Then remove from the fridge and, leaving the dough covered, allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, caramelize the onions (using 1-2 medium onions) with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Preheat the oven to 475°F.
• After the two-hour rise at room temperature, spread the onions over the dough.
• Sprinkle the remaining olive oil and the salt over the dough.
• Bake 20-25 minutes until the top is crusty and a rich golden brown color.
• Eat hot, warm, or at room temperature.

RUSTIC FOCACCIA WITH TOMATOES, ONIONS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Set aside in a warm place away from drafts until the yeast is forming small bubbles, about 15 minutes.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 TBSP sea salt, ½ cup olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 3 more minutes on medium speed until the dough becomes smooth and soft. If the dough feels sticky or tacky, sprinkle it with some more flour.
• Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and knead it by hand for a few minutes, adding more flour if necessary.
• Coat the inside of the mixing 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 two sheet pans (13" x 9" x 1" jelly roll pans) with the remaining ½ cup olive oil.
• Place the dough onto the pans and begin pressing it out (with the tips of your fingers) to fit the size of the pans. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pans. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make small dimples all the way through the dough (but on the boarder). Put the dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 °F and prepare the topping.
• In a large skillet, caramelize the sliced onions by slowly cooking them, uncovered, in some olive oil with a sprinkle of salt, until they are lightly browned, stirring occasionally (but not too often). Add the tomatoes and cook briefly. Turn off the heat and add the fresh herbs and Kalamata olives (or, any favorite olives). Set aside.
• Liberally sprinkle the top of the focaccia with some coarse sea salt and lightly drizzle some olive oil on top. Bake the foccacie for about 10 minutes and then spread the caramelized onions, tomatoes, fresh herbs and olives mixture over the two pans. Bake them for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove the pans from the oven and let them cool slightly before cutting and serving.