Focaccia

I got a sandwich from Starbucks this week that reminded me of the amazing focaccia we made at Mercato that I got to share with you. Honestly the dough itself is a super simple recipe that even a non-baker like me could make but the end result is always a family favorite.

My first day at Mercato this was the first recipe that I was given to prepare. The way the kitchen worked there was so small we had to prep in the morning and clean up before the restaurant opened for service during the evening. I was terrified remembering the last time I actually baked anything was pie crust for Christmas a few years ago because that’s the only thing I could bake before this. I was later told it was a test to see if I could follow instructions and be patient. As I mentioned before I’m not a baker that’s my husband. I had to take intro to baking and pastry twice because I failed the first time, and there I was on my first day at this job a friend got me. I was terrified but I did what I had to do for the job, and the recipe was super simple so I didn’t have anything to worry about. Once I got used to making focaccia it was one of my favorite things to make. On the weekends when they opened during the day they made the focaccia into a caprese panini with fresh mozzarella basil pesto and heirloom tomatoes and the most amazing petit potatoes as fries.

While I cant give yall the exact recipe for theirs, but here’s the base recipe for a delicious bread. First bloom 2 envelopes of active dry yeast with 2.5 cups of warm water. Bloom meaning active the yeast in the warm water so it makes the bread rise. Then add your 4 cups of flour half cup of rosemary and 1 cup of olive oil. I use my hand mixer to mix everything into a dough ball that takes like 5 to 10 minutes. I would leave it in the bowl and cover it until it doubles in size. That will probably take like and hour and a half. Once that happens cut in half spread out on a greased sheet pan and poke you fingers into the dough lightly so it will bubble but try very hard not to poke any holes in the dough. Then let rise once more that normally takes about 30 minutes and bake at 350 for like 15 to 20 minutes. Once it comes out cut into equal parts cover with olive oil Maldon salt and fresh rosemary.

As always if you have any questions comments or concerns please comment below or email anytime. Be Blessed!