Bread and I have a difficult relationship. I am in no way masterfully versed in the art of baking; my realm of magic has always been on the stovetop. Working in a kitchen, the same is surprisingly true for a lot of chefs. Some chefs specialize in general cooking, while others find proficiency in the delicate chemistry of baking. Surprise! I never was good at chemistry. But, with times of quarantine come opportunities to take up the mantle of trying new things. So! Why not try out bread again?

I was a bit nervous going into this week on whether to even give bread a shot. My memories of bread are…well…a tad embarrassing. Just ask Dylan. He bore witness to the monstrous creation I attempted a few years ago when he went on a trip to California. To surprise him when he returned (like I normally do), I thought I’d cook him something delicious. Earlier that day I just so happened to be watching one of those time-lapse cooking videos on YouTube and stumbled into a recipe that looking incredibly appetizing: Cheesy Jalapeno Bread. So, I set out and whipped it up nice and easy. I pulled it out of the oven, and patted myself on the back, thinking ‘Man, Tony, you just conquered bread!’

And then he came home.

Have you ever bit into a phonebook? Do you know that…heaviness that comes with it, like a dead weight? Well, when we sliced that loaf open after Dylan came home, everything in it had settled to the bottom. The rise had created a giant hollow loaf, and the contents had compressed into a material you could feasibly spackle your den with. It was all kinds of terrible. Dylan still brings it up at parties to this day, much to my delight. (Can you sense the sarcasm in that?)

Regardless, I finally rolled up my sleeves and committed to relearning EVERYTHING I knew about baking. Learning to measure by weight, types of flours, everything. The whole shebang! It’s a work in progress, but I read my baking bible daily, and I’m working through it! There have been trials and errors so far, but thankfully, I nailed one of my personal bread projects in the process. Being Italian, I just HAD to try my hands at a Focaccia!

**The inside has a great spattering of bubbles!**

Focaccia is an incredible bread, generally soft and airy, with a spattering of luscious ingredients adorning its top. It has this bumpy profile, reminiscent of the rolling hills of Tuscany, and its usually quite covered in olive oil. Leave it to an Italian like me to go for the Italian bread, right? Either way, this dough took a couple of trials. It’s a high hydration dough to start, which means that this sucker is WET. You can’t really knead it on a board and still end up with airy focaccia. Also, humidity can affect how wet the dough is, so you’ll notice I had to add a little extra when I was creating this recipe due to our dry climate.

Best of all, I kept practicing my Quarantine Cooking motto of using as much around me as I can to make the toppings. That’s one of the cool versatile things about a Focaccia: It can have SO MANY different combinations on top of it. Meat, veg, dairy, you name it! As long as its relatively dry, it can go on top of focaccia! SO, pull stuff out of your pantry and fridge, and play around with some flavor combinations!

**I used Red Peppers and Goat Cheese on mine here, but feel free to use what toppings you have around the house!**

First, in order to make Focaccia, we need to make a sponge, which is just a mix of water and flour with instant yeast. Combining these now and setting them aside to bloom gets the yeast going on its merry way, making a bubbly little puddle of baking joy. So, combine equal weights flour and water along with a teaspoon of yeast. Mix well and set aside at room temperature for at least an hour.

**Just some basic mise here for the Sponge!**

Now we can get this dough properly together! Put the remaining flour into a large bowl, and add in the 1 ½ cups of water, 2 tbsp olive oil, a hefty pinch of salt (That’s at least 4 fingers on the pinch!) and the sponge from earlier. Mix that all very well, cover, and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Next, we’ll build some structure into the bread with a folding technique.

**See how wet and pasty the dough is? We want that!**

After the 10 minutes have come and gone, pull out that dough, and let’s get messy! Get your fingers wet(or else the dough will cling to them for dear life, and you don’t want that!) and slowly reach down the inside of the bowl until your fingers are under the dough. Then, quickly and gently fold the dough over onto itself. Do this until the dough has been completely folded, cover, and let sit for another 10 minutes. Kneading like this helps to expand the gluten a bit, which will give us a deliciously soft bite when the bread is finished. You’re going to want to repeat this folding and resting process 4 more times (so 5 foldings and restings in total). After your last fold, cover and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour to let it continue its rise.

**Folding Step One: Reach down under the dough…**

**Folding step two: …and folding over!**

Once the hour is done, its time to make some magical pantry focaccia. Preheat the oven to 485°F, and gratuitously oil a deep baking tray. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT USE PARCHMENT PAPER. 485°F is well beyond the temperature that paper spontaneously combusts. SO, if you don’t want a charcoal patty at the end of this, leave the parchment paper out! Gather the dough, and pour it out onto the tray. Using your fingertips, gently spread the dough out, taking care to not pop too many bubbles. Spreading the dough like this will give the bread it’s signature bumpy texture. Then, let sit for 15 minutes or so while the oven continues to preheat.

**My mise setup for focaccia decorating!**

Now its time for the toppings. I generally did a pantry raid to find things that would taste well together. One of the classical focaccia flavor combinations is Rosemary and Sea Salt, so I grabbed the bag of rosemary from my fridge (compliments of Purple Sage Farms, which is not only at the Farmer’s Market but also at my local grocer, Lark & Larder). I also had a random jar of roasted red peppers, so I grabbed that too. Lastly, I had some goat cheese that I’ve been working through since my last shopping trip (A grab from the drive-thru Boise Farmers Market, the always lovely Picabo Desert Farms). What you might have in your pantry could be different, and that’s ok! A simple salt and pepper with a hearty drizzle of olive oil is just as delicious as a fancy sausage, pepper, and cheese focaccia. Play around and experiment!

Once the oven was at temperature, I took all my ingredients and spread them across the focaccia one at a time. At the beginning and the end, I drizzled some olive oil all over the bread to give it just that much more flavor. Then, I stuck it in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on it! You want it to get a delicious golden brown, so don’t look away!

This bread is fantastic on its own, or it can be cut in half and used as a mind-blowingly soft loaf of sandwich bread! Personally, if I’m in a snacking mood, I have a hard time saying no to a good old-fashioned balsamic vinegar dippy dip. There are so many ways to customize your focaccia to fit your pantry and favorite flavors that I have no doubt in my mind you’ll make something unique and delicious. Happy Eating all and stay safe out there!

**Rolling hills of Italian Glory! I’m gonna grab some Balsamico for this!**

Delicious Pantry Focaccia

Serves: 8-12 portions

Prep Time: Approx. 3 hours

Cooking time 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Starter:

¾ cup flour
½ cup water
1 tsp instant yeast

For the Bread:

3 cups flour
1 ½ cups water (plus a few tbsp extra if needed)
2 tbsp Oil
A good pinch of Salt

For the toppings:

More Olive oil for drizzling.
½ cup roasted red peppers, patted dry and sliced
½ cup crumbly goat cheese
2 tbsp rosemary
Helpful pinches of salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Make the bread starter. Combine ¾ cup flour with ½ cup water and 1 tsp instant yeast. Mix well, and cover for 1 hour at room temperature.

2. After an hour has passed, make the bread dough. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the flour, 1 ½ cup water, olive oil, bread starter, and a good pinch of salt. Stir well to combine and let sit for 10 minutes. Then, wet your hands and knead the dough by reaching down the side of the bowl, and folding the wet dough over itself. When the dough has been completely folded, cover for 10 minutes. Then, repeat the process of folding and resting 4 more times. After the firth fold, rest the dough at room temperature for 1 hour to develop bubbles.

3. Preheat the oven to 485°F and generously oil a deep baking dish. DO NOT USE PARCHMENT PAPER. Gently place the dough on the tray and spread it out using your fingertips. This process should create traditional pockmarks that are customary with focaccia. Then, add on the toppings. Generously drizzle olive oil on the bread to encourage crispy browning. When finished with toppings, bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Hello!

May 9 Quarantine Cooking: Pantry Focaccia