Tag: focaccia bread

Whole Wheat Skillet Focaccia with Pine Nuts

If you have a fear of working with yeast, you’ve just found your ideal first project.  Consider it the training wheels of bread making, it really doesn’t get any easier than this.  There’s nothing fancy about it, just a good hearty, quick bread to go with soups, stews, or pastas, and there is almost no work involved.  I use my stand mixer, but since you don’t knead this dough, and it’s super soft, you can use a wooden spoon if you want to.

Normally I spread my focaccia dough out on a baking sheet in one big rectangle, but today I divided it into two skillets.  The nuts brown up in the oven, and if you aren’t familiar with toasted pine nuts, you’re in for a treat.  The only other flavor is the fruity extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.

The distinguishing characteristic of focaccia bread is its dimpled surface, made by dipping your fingers in olive oil and poking them all over the surface of the risen dough.  The oil pools in the dimples and bakes into the bread.  Whole wheat gives this particular focaccia a little more chewy whole grain texture.  It’s best eaten warm right from the oven.

Whole Wheat Skillet Focaccia with Pine Nuts

What You Will Need

  • 2 cups warm water (110F)
  • 2 tsp dry yeast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 cup whole wheat flour
  • olive oil
  • 1 cup pine nuts

Instructions

  1. Set oven to 400F
  2. Pour the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a regular bowl if you want to beat it yourself. Add the yeast, salt and two cups of all purpose flour. Mix until a sticky dough forms.
  3. Add the whole wheat flour and mix until the dough comes together. It will still be sticky.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and set the dough in a warm place for 45 minutes.
  5. Coat two cast iron skillets liberally with olive oil, including the sides. Take half the dough and press out into each pan, nudging the dough with your fingers to fit the surface of the pan.
  6. Dip your fingers in olive oil and dot the entire surface with oil. Be generous.
  7. Sprinkle with pine nuts, and then with sea salt.
  8. Bake for about 20 minutes until risen and lightly browned. Watch carefully towards the end so the pine nuts don’t burn.
  9. Cut in the pan or lift out for cutting.

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http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2013/11/whole-wheat-skillet-focaccia-with-pine-nuts.html

*Recipe from [The View from Great Island|http://theviewfromgreatisland.com] All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to use this recipe, please link back to this page.

Tips for success ~

  1. Your water must be between 110-115F or the yeast will not become active and the bread will not rise.  Use an instant read thermometer.
  2. Liberally oil your skillet before putting the dough in.  Don’t forget the sides.
  3. Don’t be shy with the olive oil.  Dip your fingers in the oil and then poke lots of little holes all over the dough and let the oil pool in the dimples.  The oil will give the finished bread lots of flavor.
  4. Make sure your oven is at temperature before baking.
  5. Watch carefully toward the end of baking to make sure the pine nuts don’t burn.  They can go from golden brown to burnt in a short time.

Enjoy the weekend!

Summer Tomato Focaccia

It’s always the same at this time of year, I race to make sure I’ve  made all my summer favorites as the month of August marches on.  The farmer’s market is at its absolute height right now, and the colorful heirloom tomatoes are finally here.  They were a little late this season and I was starting to worry.  My favorites are the teeny tiny ones, I use them for salads, salsas, and this focaccia bread.

I love my focaccia recipe, I’ve been making it for years and it always comes out perfectly.  It takes a little over an  hour to make from start to finish, and I can customize it for the season or the occasion.  This is the high summer version.  The little tomatoes  burst open when you bite into it and their sweet juice, along with the rosemary, the  Parmesan, and the salty bread is a real treat.

The soft sticky dough needs only 40 minutes to rise, and then you pat it out into a rough rectangle on a baking sheet.  You dip your fingers in olive oil and poke it all over so there are luscious little pools of oil that flavor the bread.  Then on go the tomatoes, some fresh rosemary, sea salt, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.  There’s no second rise, it goes right into a hot oven.

This is a great project for a beginning cook — the recipe is simple and straightforward but the result has got a real wow factor, and it feeds a crowd.   You can top it with thinly sliced lemons, olives, sliced artichokes…the possibilities are endless.

What You Will Need

  • 2 cups warm water (110F)
  • 2 tsp yeast (1 packet)
  • 2 tsp table salt
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • olive oil
  • fresh rosemary leaves (approximately 2 or 3 Tablespoons)
  • 1 pint of tiny heirloom tomatoes (or any small tomato)
  • grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
  • Kosher or sea salt for sprinkling over the top

Instructions

  1. set the oven to 425F
  2. Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl and pour in the warm water.
  3. Add the salt and 2 cups of the flour, mix into a soft and sticky dough.
  4. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix well. (The dough will still be sticky)
  5. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes in a warm place.
  6. Press out the dough on a well oiled, or silpat lined baking sheet. Using your fingers, ease it into a rectangle, approximately 9×13, give or take.
  7. Put the olive oil in a small bowl and dip your fingers into the oil, and then all over the bread, poking the bread surface and leaving little pools of oil. Do this all over the bread. Don’t skimp; this will result in great flavor after the bread is baked.
  8. Arrange the tomatoes across the top, pressing them into the dough slightly, then scatter the rosemary leaves evenly across the surface. Sprinkle sea salt over all, and finally top with a dusting of Parmesan cheese.
  9. Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden.
  10. The rosemary will crisp up in the oven, so you may want to scatter some fresh leaves on top of the bread after baking to refresh the rosemary flavor and give it visual appeal.

Notes

Unless you are experienced with yeast, use an instant read thermometer (which every kitchen should have) to check the temperature of the water, it is essential to have it at the correct temperature or the yeast will not rise.
You will need truly tiny tomatoes for this recipe. Even smaller than standard cherry tomatoes. If all you can find are cherry tomatoes, halve them before putting them on the dough.

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http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2013/08/summer-tomato-focaccia.html

*Recipe from [The View from Great Island|http://theviewfromgreatisland.com] All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to use this recipe, please link back to this page.

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