When I found this recipe, it looked just like the kind of bread recipe I can get behind: absolutely no kneading required. Since we were going to have pasta for dinner, I decided a nice focaccia bread would be nice. Usually, if we want focaccia, we stop buy the Italian cheese store in our neighborhood and pick up some day-old focaccia for cheap, but I decided to try my hand at this since I was home all day. It didn't rise as much as I would've hoped, so next time I might try letting it rise in a warmer location. It's been chilly here, and our old house is kind of drafty. Joe was so impressed that I made this myself, and he couldn't stop munching on it while we were preparing dinner. Of all the optional ingredients, I mixed about 2 tsp of pizza seasoning into the dough and sprinkled it with another 2 tsp or so before baking. Dried rosemary would be a nice touch as well. We ate it with dinner, dipping it in some olive oil with fresh ground pepper.
No-Fuss Focaccia
source: Amber's Delectable Delights
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
1/4 cup (1 ounce) Vermont cheese powder, optional
Pizza Seasoning, optional
Directions
1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.
2) Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.
4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.
6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.
7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
8) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
