Tag Archives: Focaccia

Cherry Tomato & Oregano Foccacia

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  “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” – James Beard

 

This wonderful Cherry Tomato is my first bake from the wonderful book that I received when I bought my Kitchenaid Artisan Standup Mixer in Dubai last year.Well I have experimented with lots more from the book,just haven’t got around to posting these beautiful recipes. Well I’m quite a recipe book junkie. Aren’t we all?Most often bed time reading lands up being recipe reading.I just love browsing through the multitude of recipes and images and of course make notes of what’s next on the baking agenda.Sometimes the lists are endless and don’t even get to even half of the recipes.

The Kitchen aid recipe book has an assortment of various recipes,ranging from  Sauces, Pasta dough recipes, Breads of all kinds,Pastries and Pies and lots more. These images have been in my folder for ever so long.Well that’s just a normal day in the life of a blogger I guess. I sometimes worry that I may suffer from ADD.I probably bake one thing,I’m editing images of another recipe and well land up blogging about something totally different.Well what matters most is that I do post all the recipes that I try out.So here goes.

This Focaccia is an easy recipe to follow and does not require much skill at all.I’ve used cherry tomatoes and some Oregano and flavoured it with Olive oil and sea salt.Nothing beats the taste and smell of warm and fresh bread out of the oven.So worth the effort!

Warning: Won”t last long as tastes delicious, hot out of the oven.Highly recommend baking two loaves at a time:) Happy Baking!

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Makes 2 Loaves: Ingredients:

  • 30 grams Yeast (Instant or Active Dried)
  • 400 ml Lukewarm water
  • a pinch of sugar
  • 800 grams All Purpose Flour(Maida)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 125 ml Olive oil
  • 12 small cherry tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons dried Oregano
  • Extra Virgin Olive oil and sea salt for garnish

Directions:

  1. Mix the yeast in the lukewarm water.Stir in the sugar and let it rest for 10 minutes or until foamy,if using active dried yeast.
  2. Stir in the Olive oil.
  3. Mix the flour and salt in the mixer.
  4. Use the dough hook to knead and gradually add in the yeast.
  5. The dough should be soft.
  6. Knead for 2 minutes.
  7. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and leave it to rise for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
  8. Knock down the dough and add in the dried Oregano.
  9. Divide the dough into two equal portions.
  10. Roll each portion into circles.
  11. Place them on a greased baking tray.
  12. Make indents with your fingers in each circle.
  13. Push a cherry tomato into each indent.
  14. Cover again with a damp towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
  15. Pre heat the oven to 200C.
  16. Drizzle the dough with Olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt.
  17. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Olive Foccacia-Hot off the oven

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Dear son’s request for dinner tonite was some cheese Ravioli(store-bought).I haven’t yet tried my hand at making fresh pasta from scratch.One day,some day is what I keep saying.Certainly on my “to try out”list though.I thought a nice garden salad with some black olives would go well with the pasta.Actually I saw a fair amount of the olives and wondered if it was that time of the year again to get down some bread baking.

I love baking this Olive foccacia and its been awhile since I made it.One of the best breads you could possibly eat.This one’s a family favorite.You could always play around with the ingredients and use some variations:

  • Sun dried tomatoes and herbs
  • Garlic and Rosemary
  • Green olives and garlic

I personally love black olives…so Olive foccacia it is.If you do use garlic please be careful with the amount you use and it can make the bread pretty pungent.Olive paste is a good alternative,however fresh olives just gives it a wonderful fresh flavour.

This post is actually dedicated to a very dear friend Rohini.Thanks Ro for sharing this wonderful recipe with me.I remember learning to make a sun-dried foccacia with her many years ago. She now lives in Melbourne with her family and I sure miss our foodie times together.As you follow the recipe you will notice that I”ve used Weetabix in the dough.This is a great addition to this bread as it makes it high in fibre,healthier and wholesome.I like the bread slightly thickish,however you could always make it thinner so it results in a crisper foccacia.

Some Important Tips on baking Olive Foccacia:

YEAST:

  •  I’ve just used some DCL(brand name) active dry yeast.Please ensure the water is lukewarm.Any hotter than that will kill the yeast.
  • Whisk the yeast and the water well.Cover this mixture and let it rest in a warm dark place for at least 15-20 minutes.I usually keep it in my un heated oven.
  • You know the yeast has fermented well if you see a thick frothy foam on top of the cup.

OLIVE OIL:

  • Please use a liberal amount of olive oil while knocking down the dough.This will make the final product soft and light.

KNEADING AND KNOCKING DOWN THE DOUGH:

  • This is a very important step.At first the dough had to be kneaded well.Once it has rested for at least an hour.You can add the olives and you literally have to knock down or punch this dough

 

 

Happy Bread making dear friends and thanks for reading my post.If if have an interesting ingredient that you would like to add to this foccacia,please do and I’d love to hear about it.I do hope this bread will be baked in your kitchens as well.It’s delish to say the leaast.And I doubt I’m going to have any remaining for dinner tonite…my son’s dipping a slice into some olive oi and devouring it.

With much love from my kitchen to yours…untill Ipost again.

 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 200 gm plain flour
  • 2 Weetabix biscuits
  • 1 cup (lukewarm water)
  • 11/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 6 tablespoons Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped olives,plus some extra for the topping
  • 1 tablespoon dried Oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

  1. Crush the weetabix biscuits and add it to the flour.
  2. Add the yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water and whisk well.
  3. Keep the yeast mix in a warm and dark place for 15 minutes.
  4. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil,salt and the yeast to the flour mix.
  5. The consistency of the dough at this stage will be soggy.
  6. Knead the dough well.Cover witha damp tea towel and let it rest for about an hour.
  7. Knock down the dough and add the chopped olives,pepper and dried oregano.
  8. Add the remaining oil as well.
  9. Again let this dough rest for about an hour.
  10. Grease a baking tray and shape the dough into a thickish oblong.
  11. Add the chopped olives and brush with oil.
  12. Bake at 180 C for about 25-30 minutes or till the crust is a medium brown.