OLIVE & SUN DRIED TOMATO FOCACCIA

Recipe yields 4 side servings or 2 main dish-sized servings.

Ingredients:

Olive & Sun Dried Tomato Focaccia

  • 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast
  • 2 ½ cups (236 g) lukewarm water
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 5 cups (600 g) bread flour
  • 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
  • ⅓ cup (72 g) extra-virgin olive oil
  • baking spray or 2 tablespoons butter, to coat the baking pan
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , also to coat the baking pan
  • ½ cup (30 g) Red or yellow sun dried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup (90 g) castelvetrano olives, roughly chopped

    Final post-bake toppings

    • Sun dried tomato oil or extra virgin olive oil, for brushing on top of the focaccia - post bake
    • Pinch flaky sea salt
    • 3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

      Process:

      1. In your mixing bowl, add yeast, honey and warm water, whisking well until combined.
      2. Next, after 5-7 minutes once you start to see activity and bubbles rising to the surface of the mixture, add your bread flour and salt.
      3. Add in your bread flour and salt. With a silicone spatula, mix your dough in a scooping motion, until it's all combined and mixed together and all clumps are removed.
      4. In a separate big bowl, add in about ¼ cup olive oil, add in your dough, and gently turn your dough to coat in oil. Cover and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
      5. Grease a 9x13 baking pan with butter/baking spray and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Then, gently pour your risen dough into the baking pan. Place in a rather warm area (ideally 80 degrees) of your home and allow it to rise for 4 hours uncovered.
      6. Once your dough has fully risen and has really spread to all sides of your pan, take your fingers and dimple the dough. Take your fingers and create little holes all across your dough making sure not to puncture all the way through! Then, top with olives, placed evenly on top of the focaccia.
      7. At this point, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place your focaccia dough in the oven and bake for 20 minutes - then scatter the sun dried tomatoes on top and bake for an additional 6-10 minutes until the top has browned and the inside temperature has reached 200 degrees F. Adding the sun dried tomatoes later in the baking process prevents them from getting too crispy/burnt too quickly!
      8. Remove the focaccia from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before gently removing from the pan with tongs or a large spatula and placing it on a cooling rack. If the bread sits in the baking pan for too long, the bottom of the focaccia will start to soften due to condensation so make sure to allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack so that its crispy crust remains crispy!
      9. Brush with sun dried tomato oil, top with flaky sea salt and freshly grated parmesan, and cut into squares with a bread knife once cooled

      Shopping list:

      Red Sun Dried Datterino Tomato in oil

      Yellow Sun Dried Datterino Tomato in oil

      Extra Vigin Olive oil: