Monday, May 17, 2010

Olive Focaccia


Day 11

Today I had my sister and her friend Kelly over for lunch. Kelly doesn't do well with lactose and you'd be amazed how many lunch foods have cheese. I found a recipe for black olive focaccia from perfect baking by Parragon Publishing that sounded great. I did a little tweaking of my own and here's what I came up with in the end.
Olive Focaccia
4c of white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 t salt
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
6 T extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for oiling
2/3 c pitted black olives (I used a small can of sliced black olives)
4 large garlic stuffed green olives
2 T basil pesto
1 t course sea salt
1. mix flour, salt and yeast in mixer with dough hook. Pour in the water and 2 T of olive oil and mix to soft dough.
2. Knead on 2 for 5-10 minutes or until it becomes smooth and elastic. Transfer to clean, warmed, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Brush 2 cookie sheets with oil. Punch the dough to knock out the air, then knead on 2 for 1 minute (dust with a little flour). Add the olives and 1 T of pesto and knead until combined.
4. Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 oval shapes. (Mine was a little thick, but still worked) Place on the oiled cookie sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough is puffy.
5. Press your fingers into the dough to make dimples, drizzle over 2 T of oil, and sprinkly with the course salt. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and cover with a cloth, to give a soft crust. Slice each loaf into 6 pieces and serve warm.
I served mine with an artichoke bruchetta and a little fresh spinach that I sauteed with garlic and olive oil. This was super yummy all by itself. It would go great with any italian dish too.

5 comments:

  1. This blog is almost as cool as one I used to read called crownhazel.blogspot.com

    ;)

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  2. Ugh I have everything but the pesto!

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  3. Michelle the original recipe didn't call for pesto. Or green olives that matter.

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  4. OH well there ya go! Now it's MY afternoon project! LOL

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  5. Parker just saw this picture and said, "Oh, yum!".

    This is Laura, by the way.

    ReplyDelete