ROASTED POTATO and OLIVE FOCACCIA

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I am all for avoiding excesses, but every once in a while I will throw caution to the wind and indulge. A bread studded with chunks of roasted potatoes will not make you feel light as a feather, no matter how carefully you go through the “portion control” route. We are talking a fair amount of calories here, but those are very tasty calories, therefore, worth consuming. Just don’t bake it every week! 😉

This is another recipe designed by Dan Lepard, published on The Guardian website – you can shape it as a loaf, but I opted for a thick and rustic focaccia. My electric oven handles flat breads a lot better than loaves, and it’s been a while since I made a focaccia anyway. The clock was ticking….

ROASTED POTATO AND OLIVE BREAD
(Dan Lepard)

450 g yellow, thin-skinned potatoes
a little olive oil to coat potatoes
375 g (ml) water
1 tsp instant dry yeast
100 g yogurt
50 g honey
175 g pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
1 small bunch dill, chopped (I substituted thyme)
2 tsp sea salt
625 g Italian 00 flour (I substituted bread flour)
Olive oil and salt flakes

The potatoes are briefly roasted and incorporated with all other ingredients to make a very sticky dough. Using Dan’s minimal kneading method, the dough rises for several hours, until patted in a baking dish as a focaccia or shaped as a loaf.

For a full, detailed recipe, please follow this link to Dan’s site.

ENJOY!

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Comments: Part of the charm of this bread is the inclusion of potatoes and olives in large chunks, don’t cut them in small pieces. Next time I intend to roast the potatoes just a little bit longer, to make the flavor more prominent in the bread. Some pieces of potato will tend to fall off as you knead, don’t worry, just stick them back into the dough, which, with each kneading cycle will be smoother and smoother.

I am sending this hearty focaccia to Susan’s Yeastspotting event….

ONE YEAR AGO: SALMON CURRY (one of my favorite recipes ever!)

10Aug2009

BBA#13: Focaccia

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by sallybr

focacciaready

Not quite sure how else to put it: I LOVE focaccia! In fact, it was one of my very first posts in Bewitching Kitchen, a straightforward recipe we’ve enjoyed countless times. If you haven’t seen it, click here for a flash back.

In the Bread Baker’s Challenge, it was time for Peter Reinhart’s recipe, which is a lot more involved. Whereas my usual method takes you from flour to baked focaccia in a little over an hour, Reinhart’s calls for almost 3 hours of preparation, followed by an overnight sleep in the refrigerator. The next day it involves 3 more hours until baking; I was understandably anxious to see the results.

But first, the process…

As the ingredients mix it won’t look very promising…
dough1

But don’t worry about it, just get the dough hook going…. and going… and going… it might take 10 minutes to get it smooth

dough2.

This is exactly how it’s supposed to be: almost clearing the sides of the bowl, but still sticky at the bottom

Now, be brave and with wet hands, remove the dough to a heavily floured surface…

dough3

and proceed to make three folds, 30 minutes apart. Don’t forget to enjoy the amazing changes in texture, as the dough gains strength and shape with minimal effort…

fold1 fold2 finalfold

I confess to having a bit of trouble with the next step. It was tricky to move the dough to the sheet pan. If you have helpers around, line them up, and flour their hands… heavily. In fact, it might be even better to follow Paul’s suggestion (a fellow baker who recently posted about it here ), and transfer the dough to the sheet pan right after the last fold. It will make your life easier. 😉

sheetpan1

Reinhart’s herb oil is a must, I will definitely incorporate it in my focaccia from now on, no matter the recipe.

herboil sheetpan2

The next morning, after 3 hours of final rise at room temperature, the focaccia goes into the oven!

ready2

a few final comments after the jump….

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21Jun2009

FOCACCIA

Posted in Breads by sallybr

This is one of those recipes that I always go back to. Simple, straightforward, and as far as bread things go, it certainly qualifies as quick, as you can have it on a cooling rack 1 hour after your focaccia craving hits.

It comes from “No Need to Knead”, a book published in 1999, years before the “no-knead-bread fever” hit the US.

For dinner parties I make the full recipe, for me and hubby I make half and cook it in a cast iron pan. Works like a charm….

FOCACCIA
(adapted from Suzanne Dunaway’s “No Need to Knead”)

2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour
3 tsp salt
2-3 tsp olive oil
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp kosher salt

Measure the water in a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over water and stir until dissolved. Using a strong wooden spoon mix 2 cups of flour and salt until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, stirring for 2 more minutes, just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and the flour is fully incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat the oven to 500F. Oil one or two non-stick 13×18 inch baking sheets.

Pour the dough onto the sheet(s), brush the surface with 2 tsp olive oil. Dip your fingers in cold water or olive oil and make indentations all over the dough, working to stretch the dough as you go. If you are using a single sheet, the dough should cover it. Brush the surface with another teaspoon of olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and salt.

Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 450F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

comments and photos