posted by Skip 11-10-101 6:06 AM
King Arthur's Focaccia
Dough:
3 1/2 C King Arthur Italian Style flour*
1/3 C Italian Bread Improver (optional but good)
2 T Pizza Dough Flavor (optional but good)
1 1/4 t salt
2 t instant yeast
2 T olive oil
1 1/4 cups of water
Topping:
1 to 2 T olive oil
coarse salt
fresh rosemary, snipped or dried rosemary
*Substitute pastry or all purpose flour if you wish though you'll get markedly different results; you may also need to increase the amount of water.
Mix together all of the dough ingredients and knead briefly; 5 to 6 minutes, by and or machine, is all this dough needs (kneads). If you're using a bread machine, program for dough or manual but hit the cancel button after 8 minutes of kneading.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove it from the bowl and fold it over a few times to redistribute the growing yeast.
Place the dough onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined half-sheet pan (or similar-size pan, about 18 x 13 inches), and pat it out into a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches in size. The dough is very tender and easy to work with. Brush it with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and rosemary. cover the focaccia and set it in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.
Just before baking the focaccia, use your fingers to gently dimple the dough every 2 inches or so. Bake it in a preheated 425 degree oven for 18-20 minutes until it's golden brown. Remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool slightly before cutting it into squares. Serve plain or top with any of our focaccia toppings. yield: about a dozen 4 inch squares.