I’m an Italian food lover like most of us are. Pizza, pasta, and breads like focaccia, ciabatta, etc. And when you love something, you must learn how to make it if you want to save heaps of cash 🙂 That’s my motto right there. So I bought bread flour from my neighborhood bakery at P50/kilo and tried making my own focaccia bread. I’m in luck as our pantry is blessed with dried herbs including rosemary (they are immortal) and Ashton’s grandma in the US sent parsley, basil, and garlic powder.
Focaccia Bread Recipe:
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup olive oil (soak some rosemary in it if you have the time but don’t forget to strain)
1 tsp. yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tsp. salt
more olive oil to drizzle and grease the bowl and baking pan
– Combine water, yeast, and honey and set aside for 5 minutes. Add olive oil and salt. Gradually add the flour in batches.
– With the hook attachment of your mixer, knead the dough for 15 minutes. Transfer to a greased bowl and leave for 45 minutes. Transfer to a greased rectangular baking sheet and let it rest for 5 minutes.
– Flip dough so that oiled surface is up and it’s easy for you to spread the dough out gently with your knuckles. Sprinkle choice herbs, mine had minced garlic, rosemary,basil, and parsley. Let the dough double in size for 1 hour.
– Drizzle with olive oil as you please and pop it in a pre-heated oven at 375F (Gas: 4-5) for 10-12 minutes. My technique is to turn off the oven once I can smell the bread from the living room 🙂
– Let the bread rest and serve as is or as a side dish for pasta.
Are you a pasta and bread lover? When I was younger, my sister and I loved Sbarro’s and we would go there after school while waiting for our mom to finish work. We ate so much we worry we’d have to wear plus size prom dresses but who cares right? Like what Wolfgang Puck would say, live, love, and eat!
