RUSTIC ITALIAN FOCACCIA...IN A RING & MORE!

"If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens."
Robert Browning

as rustic as it gets...

Italian artisan bread...

Thicker than a pizza, this dimpled bread, focaccia, gets it's name from the Latin word focus, meaning 'hearth' , because it was originally baked on an open hearth. Italian bakers use focaccia dough to make many different speciality breads, such as this ring, stuffed with fragrant pesto, or for that matter, with any other flavouring you might like ( quoted from Le Cordon Blue; The Cook's Bible).

I made one with home made pesto, & the other with a mushroom, garlic, cheese filling (we liked the second one better). Other interesting alternatives include:

• Chopped fresh sage, crushed garlic, coarse sea salt & olive oil
• Finely chopped black or green olives
• Chopped sun dried tomatoes marinated in olive oil, shredded mozzarella & fresh basil
• Sauteed onions & chopped fresh herbs

Artisan bread is exactly what its name suggests: bread that is crafted, rather than mass produced. Baked in small batches rather than on a vast assembly line, artisan bread differs from prepackaged supermarket loaves in a number of ways. Special attention to ingredients, process, and a return to the fundamentals of the age-old bread-making tradition set artisan bread apart from soft, preservative-laden commercial breads. For a more complex, flavored artisan bread, the ingredients list might expand to include various other items, all of them recognizable: sliced onions, cheddar cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil. Bread has been around for centuries. No chemicals were added to the breads baked by ancient Egyptians or those mentioned throughout the Bible, and none are added to artisan breads now.

We had company for dinner. I wanted to make bread. I had to make bread. DH suggested savoury Danish coz he fell in love with it after the last DB challenge, in June. I was tempted but that much butter was just not on...not twice a month & not in summer at least! So that morning I sat with my faithful pile of cookbooks around me, almost getting carried away to try something very challenging. Almost thought I would just go bake the Danish, & then saw this focaccia in the Le Cordon Blue Cook's Bible. Made up my mind really QUICK!! It had to be this...I love rustic, artisan breads! It didn't disappoint at all. I am posting this urgently on a request (3rd reminder today) from my SIL who was over for dinner & loved this bread. Without further ado...here we go. (I got 2 flavoured rings & 2 smaller shaped loaves out of this dough)

Focaccia dough as adapted from 'The Cook's Bible', pg 239

Ingredients:

Active Instant Yeast - 1 2/3 tbsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Warm water - 300ml

Flour - 700 gms

Whole wheat flour - 200gms

Salt - 2 tsp

Olive oil - 4tsp

Dried Italian Herbs- 2-3 tbsps

Filling of your choice ( I did one with mushrooms + garlic, recipe here; & the other with basil-almond pesto, recipe here)

Method:

• Proof the yeast by sprinkling it over 2 tbsps of warm water from the recipe & 1/2 tsp sugar. Cover & leave until frothy.
• Stir the flours + salt + dried Italian herbs into a big bowl & make a well in the centre.
• Add yeast + remaining water + olive oil. Mix to a dough.Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes.
• Shape into a ball, & place in a oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth, & let rise until doubles (1-2 hours).
• Punch down the dough, knead for 2-3 minutes, then let rest for 5 minutes.
• Roll about 1/3 of the dough into a 40 X 30 cm rectangle & spread the filling of your choice evenly over it, leaving a 1 cm border.
• Starting from one long side, roll into a cylinder. Pinch the seams to seal, but not the ends. Transfer seam side down, to a floured baking sheet, shape into a ring, & pinch ends to seal.
• Slice the ring at 5 cm intervals to within 2 cm of the centre. Gently pull out each slice & twist it over to one side to show the cut edge. Cover & let rise until doubled, 30-45 minutes.
• Brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle over with coarse sea salt & bake at 190 degrees C until golden, 30-40 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
• Note: I made sandwiches from the other loaves the next day...filling them with shredded grilled chicken, tomatoes, onions, mozzarella & mustard.