Bread making is a skillset that I will be taking with me from 2020 into this new year. I have made pita, focaccia, naan, and took a failed stab at sourdough. Maybe sourdough starter and I were never meant to be. I might need to to work harder on our relationship, who knows. What I am excelling at are the quick bread recipes.
This brings me to this focaccia recipe. My family doesn’t believe in the simplicity of just flour, salt, yeast, and water. Everything has to be a little spicy with specks of color and flavor that you can see. This bread turned out so nice and garlicky. It was soft and unctuous. This is one of the rare recipes that my sister is completely on board for. She doesn’t dole out praise for food very often so when she finished two pans of focaccia in a week I knew this was a winner. This recipe is adapted from the Rosemary Focaccia Recipe from Gimme Some Oven.
Method
The recipe actually starts out with homemade garlic oil. (Note: If you want something spicier you can use my chili oil recipe as well!) I make small batches of this all the time and it’s always on hand. Maybe I will make a separate post for it another time but this oil is the true game-changer. It infuses the garlicky flavor throughout the bread and gives it such a nice color. On medium-low heat, warm through your olive oil and add in all of your dry spices plus garlic paste. Just let this simmer for a good 15-20 minutes but don’t let the garlic burn, if you notice any deepening color take the pan off of the heat and strain it.
Bread Dough
Because my version utilizes instant yeast, I don’t have to proof my yeast in advance so you can just chuck all of your ingredients in a standard mixer with a dough hook. I keep everything going until its really formed a nice dough ball and its smooth and supple all the way around. The dough should also be a little warm from the water. I give it a light kneading after it comes out of the mixer just to make sure its all uniform and there are no dry spots. Place in a greased bowl spray some cooking spray on the dough as well to ensure it doesn’t dry out. You want the whole dough ball to be covered by a light layer of oil. Cover tightly and proof for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
Next in a heavily greased pan spread out the dough with your fingers. If it resists and springs back don’t worry just come back in a few minutes and stretch it more. I like making the dimples after the first rise, I don’t know if this is sacrilege but it works for me so I am passing it on! Cover the pan with a damp towel and let the dough rest for another 20-30 minutes until it’s puffy again. Brush with the garlic oil, leave as much of the solids behind as you can as these tend to burn, so I save them for later. Bake in a 400° oven for 15 minutes and then brush the remaining garlic and spice solids over the bread and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Garlic Herb Focaccia
Ingredients
1/2 cup garlic chili oil, divided
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp red chili flake
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp ground pepper
Bread Dough
- 3.5 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/3 cup warm water
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for garlic chili oil and keep on a mild simmer for roughly 30 minutes and cool completely. Set aside.
- Combine flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder and 1/4 cup cooled garlic oil in a stand mixer on low speed with a dough hook attachment. Add oil and slowly stream in warm water. Mix on medium speed until combined and you get a soft smooth dough.
- Place dough ball in a greased bowl and cover tightly. Rest the dough for roughly 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Place proofed dough in heavily oiled pan and use your fingers to spread the dough to all of the corners. Dimple the dough with your fingers all the way down to the bottom of the pan like you are smashing your fingers down on a piano.
- Cover the pan with a towel and rest for an additional half hour. Brush lightly with oil and bake for 10 minutes. At the halfway mark spread the rest of the oil with all of the solids (garlic, chili, parsley, etc.). Bake another 10 minutes.