Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia

I made this to go with some soup the other day and it came out great.  Soft fluffy freshly baked bread is always a winner, and makes a great side for any meal and even for sandwiches. It always tastes best eaten on the same day, but you can slice it up and freeze it and toast it up another day.

If you want to make this vegan then all you have to do is substitute a couple of ingredients, use either organic cane sugar or honey for the yeast mixture, and use a vegan butter at the end for the garlic butter, or just olive oil.

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of yeast 7g / 1/4 Oz

  • 1 cup warm tepid water

  • 2 tsp sugar

  • 3 1/2 cups of plain all purpose flour

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + 2tbsp extra 

  • 1/2 tbsp salt

  • A couple sprigs of fresh or dried rosemary (2 tsp chopped)

  • 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped 

  • Flaky sea salt for adding on top

  • 2oz butter 

Method:

In a bowl add the warm water, stir in the sugar and sprinkle the instant yeast in.  Give it a stir, cover bowl with a tea cloth and leave somewhere warm for 10-15 mins to activate the yeast.  It should be foamy and bubbly when it’s ready. 

Add flour, rosemary, and salt to a large mixing bowl, make a well in the center, and pour in the foamy yeast mixture, along with the 1/4 cup olive oil. Use a spoon or your hands to bring it all together until it forms a ball.  Knead it on a lightly floured surface for 5-6 minutes.  Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the mixing bowl making sure it coats the bottom, then place the ball of dough into the bowl.  Cover with a damp tea cloth and leave somewhere warm for 45 minutes, or until it has doubled in size. 

Knead dough again for 2-3 minutes and then place it into a shallow pan to bake it in. Cover again with the tea cloth and leave it somewhere warm to rise until it’s doubled in size. 

Using your fingers firmly make dents in the dough all over. Drizzle the olive oil on top and sprinkle with extra rosemary if you want and flaky sea salt. Pop Foccacia into a preheated oven 400F / 200 C for 15-20 minutes, until golden on top and the bread springs back when you poke it. 

I like to heat the butter with the chopped garlic so it cooks a bit and baste it on top once it’s come straight out of the oven.  You can also use olive oil instead of butter.

Serve fresh and warm, best eaten on the same day. 

Appetizer, brunch, comfort food, Christmas, Dinner, Fall, Italian, plant based, thanksgiving, Vegetarian, soup, vegancaroline artissBread, baking, Italian, garlicComment