So many people I know who love to cook are afraid of making bread. They worry that something will go wrong: They won’t get the formula just right, or they won’t have that special touch in their hands.
My advice: Make focaccia.
This Italian flat bread is a close cousin of pizza. Both start with a simple yeast-leavened dough, made even easier thanks to one of my favorite pieces of kitchen equipment: a stand-mixer with a dough hook attachment, which eliminates the necessity for strenuous and lengthy kneading by hand. Unlike with pizza, the dough doesn’t have to be shaped into a loaf, an intimidation for so many would-be bakers.
In fact, shaping and baking focaccia is even easier than pizza. The dough is simply pressed and spread by hand into a rimmed baking or cake pan. The recipe that follows yields the right amount for a round 10-inch cake pan; you can double it and use a 10-by-15-inch jellyroll pan. Start baking in a hot oven to promote a good, fast rise; then, turn the heat down a bit to keep the bread moist, light and fluffy while it bakes to a deep golden brown.
I especially love embellishing focaccia dough before baking. I always brush its top with extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle it with crystals of kosher or coarse salt. A scattering of chopped fresh herbs adds a beautiful aroma. Or spread sliced onions sauteed in olive oil until caramel brown. (If you crisscross anchovy fillets on top of the onions, and dot them with pitted black olives, you get the traditional Provencal flat bread called pissaladiere.)
One of my favorite additions, however, is something sweet: seedless grapes. The Red Flame variety has a beautiful purple color and a hint of spice. As the dough rises, it almost completely covers them, leaving just a hint of skin peeking through. When you take a bite, you get the wonderful surprise of a sudden burst of juice.
I find that fresh rosemary highlights the fruit’s flavor, but leave it out if you prefer. Also, as I do with any focaccia, I like to brush the just-baked bread with more olive oil. The bread’s heat releases the wonderful aroma of the oil, which also makes it extra moist and flavorful.
There you have it: a spectacular bread to serve as a snack or appetizer, or with salads, soups or main courses. Make focaccia without the grapes or other elaborate embellishments and you can also cut it into big squares and slice them horizontally in half for sandwiches.
Red grape and rosemary focaccia
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Rising time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 10 servings
This recipe makes a version that is much thicker than a traditional focaccia, the classic Italian flat bread.
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, about 80 degrees
1 tablespoon each: active dry yeast, honey
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup whole red seedless grapes
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1. Combine the water, yeast and honey in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk; mix until yeast dissolves. Add 2 cups of the flour; stir until the ingredients form a fairly smooth paste. Add the remaining flour and salt to cover the paste. Set aside at room temperature 20 minutes.
2. Return bowl to the mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Mix 1 minute at medium-low speed. Stop the machine; scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula. Mix at medium speed until the dough looks smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the bowl from the machine; cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Set aside to rest at room temperature 10 minutes.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl; press it into a 10-inch cake pan lined with parchment paper and brushed with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cover the pan with the damp towel; set aside for dough to rise at room temperature for about 20 minutes more.
4. Uncover the pan. Make regularly spaced deep indentations in the dough with a fingertip; place 1 grape in each indentation. Cover the pan again with the damp towel; set aside to rise at room temperature until the dough has doubled in bulk, almost burying the grapes, 45-60 minutes.
5. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the towel from the pan; lightly brush dough with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary leaves. Bake 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees. Continue baking until the focaccia is a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes.
6. Remove pan from the oven; brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature; cut into wedges or squares.
Nutrition information per serving:
288 calories, 40% of calories from fat, 13 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 38 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 933 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
