Focaccia

Easy to make rosemary focaccia - a classic Italian bread.

Focaccia is a flat Italian bread with pits and is generously flavored with olive oil. It is found all over Italy and varies from place to place. The bread has a crispy surface with a fluffy soft interior and a fantastic taste of fresh rosemary.

The bread is so full of flavor that it is excellent to eat as it is, by itself, straight out of the oven. However, it is very good to eat with a little wild garlic pesto. I usually cut the bread into thin pieces and possibly drizzle over a little olive oil when serving. I think that the bread is excellent as an accessory on a buffet because it is easy to cook and only needs to be picked out when served (possibly heated quickly in the oven). It is also perfect as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to stews and soups. You can eat the bread like a regular sandwich by halving it and it becomes perfect for a BLT.

Focaccia lasts a few days in the fridge (in an airtight container) but can also be frozen very well. It is easier to divide the bread into smaller pieces before the freezer so it is faster to thaw afterwards. Feel free to heat bread that has been stored in the fridge or freezer in the oven before it is served - the bread then almost gets back the feeling of freshly baked.

I use TIPO "00" flour in this recipe, but it works just as well with all purpose flour. I also use dry yeast, but regular yeast works great. 7 grams of dry yeast is half a bag (in Sweden dry yeast is sold in 14 gram bags) and this also corresponds to half a package of fresh yeast sold in 50 gram packages. The recipe contains quite a lot of oil and it is therefore important that you choose a good extra virgin olive oil of high quality.

This recipe is easy to make by hand, but if you have a food processor with a dough hook, it is even easier. If you do not have a food processor or stand mixer, just mix the ingredients from step 1 in a bowl instead and wait 10 minutes. Then continue with step 2 in the same bowl and mix the ingredients one by one. Eventually, a slightly sticky dough will form. Then take the dough and possibly add more flour so it can be handled more easily by hand. Place the dough on a floured table and knead for about 5 minutes and then continue according to the rest of the recipe. You can also choose to ferment the dough in the refrigerator overnight and then you can refrain from kneading the dough completely. You only have to make sure that the dough is mixed well before it goes into the fridge.

This is a basic version of the recipe and you may also want to try some of the following:

• Squeeze a clove of garlic and mix into the dough.
• Let the first fermentation take place in the refrigerator overnight. Sure, it will take longer this way (even the second leavening takes twice as long as the dough needs to be heated), but the result is worth it.
• Use confit garlic (slices of garlic cooked in olive oil on low heat for 10 minutes until softened) and press into the dough before baking.
• Push a few halved black olives or cherry tomatoes into the dough before baking.
• Try using thyme or oregano instead of rosemary.
• Sprinkle with parmesan while the bread is still hot from the oven.
• All of the above.