My Focaccia Bread Recipe

Firstly, I would like to thank Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice for inspiring me to make this bread. I was over at her site and discovered her recipe and decided to adapt it using my sourdough starter. Now, if you do not have a sourdough starter and would like to make one, you can visit How to Make Sourdough Starter to get started. If you would just like to make the bread, but without using a sourdough starter, you can view my other Focaccia Bread Recipe.





What you need...

• 2 cups (minimum) Sourdough starter
• 3 cups...Flour (Approximately)
• 2 Tbsp...Olive oil
• 1 tsp...Salt
• 1 tsp...Garlic powder
• 1 tsp...Oregano
• ½ tsp...Basil
• ½ tsp...Thyme
• Kosher or sea salt
• Parmesan cheese

Putting it together

• Go to Baking with your Sourdough Starter and follow the directions for waking-up your starter
• In a mixing bowl, add 2 cups of proofed starter
• Add the olive oil, salt, sugar, powdered garlic, oregano, thyme, and basil (if you have them, feel free to add sun-dried tomatoes. If we had them, they would be going in)
• Stir until everything is mixed well
• Using your mixer (with kneading hooks), begin by adding one cup of flour
• Once incorporated, add 1/2 cup of flour at a time, until you reach the desired consistency
• Now, even though the recipe calls for 3 cups of flour, you may not need that much or you may need more. It all depends on the moisture content of your starter (sponge) and the humidity in your area
• Also, I only use the machine until the dough is completely mixed and then I let the machine go for maybe another 30-45 seconds. The dough is supposed to be slightly sticky, so you will have to go more by feel, than by a strict recipe
• Once done, spray a glass bowl with Pam (I use the same one I mixed it in) and roll the dough in the bowl to coat with oil then form the dough into a ball by tucking the dough under itself
• Place the dough in a warm place, cover with a towel (I usually spray some water on the towel) and allow to rise until double its size (this may take one to two hours)
• Once doubled, punch down and knead again
• Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Ours is 11 x 17 inches, but a smaller size is just fine
• Place dough on baking pan and roll-out until it covers the pan (the dough will end up being about ½ inch thick). This may take a few minutes, because it will have a tendency to shrink back. Just keep at it and you will get there
• Cover and let rise again for one to two hours
• Once risen, brush with olive oil
• Preheat oven to 400°
• Using your fingers or the handle of a wooden spoon, make small indentations throughout the top of the bread
• Lightly sprinkle top with Kosher or sea salt
• Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese or any other type of cheese you want to try
• Bake on lowest rack for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown on top
• Turn-out on cooling rack and allow to cool
• Once cool, using a pizza cutter, cut into even sections

You can use this bread for just about anything. Here are a few uses, besides sandwiches:

Hamburger buns
Mini Pizzas
Bruschetta (used instead of a baguette)

I hope you enjoy it!

Troubleshooting... The Dough Also Rises