Herb & Garlic Focaccia

So, this is promising to be a crazy week for me. I figured I'd get a post out before the storm hits. An amazing amount of work for my clients makes me doubt whether I'll post for the rest of the week. I hope I can though!

On to this post. If you read my 'Firsts' post, you will remember how I pigged out on focaccia at the restaurant I reviewed. This week I decided to make one at home, and pig out on it in the privacy of my own home. And man, did I pig out!

I was very pleased with the outcome. The top & bottom crusts were crispy & golden, and the center was soft and extremely flavorful.

The only thing I didn't understand was why the top crust of my focaccia came out with cracks all over it. Too much olive oil? If anyone knows, I would love to know why! But the cracks didn't affect anything. I was still able to get nice wedges, as you can see, and the flavor was fabulous! I also recently bought some really nice Welsh sea salt which was fabulous sprinkled over the top.

Here's the recipe I used, adapted from various recipes.

Herb & Garlic Focaccia
Ingredients
1 cup warm milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp mixed dry herbs (I used thyme & oregano)
1/2 tsp coarse pepper powder
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
2 1/2 - 3 cups all purpose flour
For the topping
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sea salt

Method
1. In a large bowl, mix the milk & sugar, and sprinkle over the yeast. Set aside till creamy & frothy.
2. Stir in the olive oil, dried herbs, pepper and salt. Grate the garlic into the bowl using a Microplane fine grater, and stir well to combine.
3. Stir in about 1 cup of the flour and mix until smooth.
4. Add the remaining flour, half a cup at a time until you have a soft, and very slightly sticky dough. If the dough is too stiff, add a little milk or water to get the right texture.
5. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
6. Form the dough into a smooth ball, and place in greased bowl & cover with greased clingfilm. Set in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
7. Knock down the dough, knead briefly and form into a disc about 9 inches wide.
8. Transfer the disc onto a greased, lightly floured baking sheet. With the tips of your fingers, cover the surface of the focaccia with small indents.
9. Brush the surface generously with olive oil, trying to fill those indents with oil. Sprinkle the rosemary and sea salt over the top of the focaccia.
10. Set aside for 15-20 minutes. During this time, preheat your oven to 180.
11. Bake the focaccia for 30-40 minutes or until golden. I brushed it lightly with olive oil twice during baking.
12. Remove from the oven, brush with the remaining olive oil, and serve.

I had some amazing white truffle olive oil which I used for the final brushing & that took the focaccia over the top for me! I ate 2 wedges straight out of the oven! The rosemary-sea salt topping was really great - I love how the baked rosemary leaves crumbled on my tongue, and the little bursts of flavor from the sea salt. It was a sublime experience!

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