NEW ORLEANS —
Savory Focaccia
Ingredients
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. thyme fresh, chopped
½ Tbsp. rosemary fresh
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1 1/3 cup warm milk
2 tsp. sugar
2 ¼ - 3 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
3 1/ 4 - 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. sea salt plus some to garnish
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Directions
In a medium saucepan pan, combine olive oil, minced garlic, chopped thyme, chopped rosemary and black pepper.
Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes until aromatic but before the garlic browns. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add warm milk and sugar, stir to combine. Add yeast to the milk and stir. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
Add half of the flour, salt and a 1/3 cup of the infused garlic-olive oil mixture into the bowl of yeast and milk.
Stir until the flour is moistened, then stir in the remaining flour and mix until the dough comes together for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer dough to a floured board and knead 10 to 15 times until smooth. Do not over knead dough.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and place in a warm area. Let it rise for about an hour or until it has nearly doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out into a large circle or rectangle until the dough is about 1/2-inch thick. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap and transfer the dough to a large greased baking sheet. Use your fingers to poke very deep dimples all over the surface of the dough, then drizzle the rest of infused olive oil/garlic mixture over the top of the dough and sprinkle evenly with the fresh rosemary needles and sea salt.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired.
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Sweet Focaccia
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/3 cup warm milk
2 tsp. sugar
2 ¼ - 3 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
3 1/ 4 - 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar plus some for topping
Directions
In a small saucepan pan, combine butter and honey. Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add warm milk and sugar, stir to combine. Add yeast to the milk and stir. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
Add half of the flour, sugar and a 1/2 of the butter, honey mixture into the bowl of yeast and milk.
Stir until the flour is moistened, then stir in raisins, dried cranberries, then the remaining flour and mix until the dough comes together for about 3-5 minutes.
Transfer dough to a floured board and knead 10 to 15 times until smooth. Do not over knead dough.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and place in a warm area. Let it rise for about an hour or until it has nearly doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and roll it out into a large circle or rectangle until the dough is about 1/2-inch thick. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap and transfer the dough to a large greased baking sheet. Use your fingers to poke very deep dimples all over the surface of the dough, then drizzle the rest of the butter, honey mixture over the top of the dough, and sprinkle evenly with sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the dough is slightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and drizzle with a little more butter if desired.
