Hello again, bread fans! I was watching Salt Fat Acid Heat on Netflix, and I was inspired by Samin Nosrat. Her focaccia was made in Italy with ingredients that are WAY fresher than what I could get at the Giant in Hampden, so I did my best. This bread wasn’t for anyone but me (and my roommates, and Izaak, who basically lives here too.)
Focaccia is an Italian flatbread, usually eaten as a side or sometimes a sandwich bread. You’ll want to use the nicest olive oil you can get your hands on. If you’re like me and don’t know anything about olive oil, pick the most expensive one with the nicest designed label. There are actually a million ways to make focaccia, depending on how open you want the crumb and how soft you want the crust. This recipe makes a crispy crust and a slightly denser crumb. Focaccia can stand alone, but is often served with herbs or additional olive oil to dip. Sometimes a focaccia is made with a preferment, but this recipe is great because it can all be made in one day (when you watch Salt Fat Acid Heat and just really need it RIGHT NOW).
The lemon, olive oil and black pepper in this bread goes well with the lemon, olive oil, and black pepper I put in my avocado toast mixture, and it’s delicious. 🥑🥑🥑🥑/5
Lemon Sea Salt Focaccia
(makes two 18×13 loaves, takes about 3-3.5hrs)
Dough:
• 500g bread flour
• 2.25t yeast
• 6T high-quality olive oil
• 12g salt
• 2 lemons
• 2T rosemary
Brine:
• 6T olive oil
• 6T water
• 50g sea salt
1. Gather your ingredients. As usual, we’ve got flour, water, salt, and yeast. In this case, we’ll be adding olive oil, lemon, and spices for taste. Sprinkle the yeast over ¾ cup of the water, and let it sit for a couple minutes. Then add in the rest of the water and 3T of the olive oil.
2. Mix the flour and salt, then add in the yeast mixture and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
3.Grease a bowl with olive oil and put the dough in it, turning it once to cover the whole ball with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 2 hours).
4. Oil a baking sheet and drop the dough onto the sheet. Using your fingers, spread the dough out until it touches the walls of the pan. It will resist you. In order to put down the rebellion, stretch it as far as it wants to go, give it about 5 minutes to rest (it will contract a bit) and then stretch again. Eventually, the will of the people gluten will be subjugated, and it will fill the pan.
5. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cover the pan with a damp towel and let it rest for 30-60 minutes, until it’s swollen to fill the pan a bit. Meanwhile, slice the lemons as thin as you possibly can. I recommend using a mandolin.
6. Sprinkle the spices over the top. using the middle three fingers of one hand, trying to keep you hand as parallel to the dough as possible, press dimples into the bread. As one poorly translated Italian website put it, “pretend you very very bad the piano.”
7. Once the whole bread is dimpled, mix the remaining 6T oil with 6T water and 50g salt and whisk until it’s mostly homogenized. Pour that over the bread and let it all pool in the dimples. Arrange the lemons on top.
8. Toss it in the oven and bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Take it out, chop it up, and enjoy (take the lemons off before you eat it)!
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