Easy-Peasy Rosemary And Maine Sea Salt Focaccia

This is one of my favorite recipes that I have ever developed. I believe it started when I found the recipe for focaccia on the King Arthur website. I made it but wasn’t blow away, so I aspired to make an even better one. This recipe is the culmination of four years of testing and eating a ton of bread, which, let’s be honest, is not the worst thing ever. The recipe now lives in my wallet because it’s precious to me. You never know when you will need a delish bread recipe on the fly.

As you can see from my photos I used a glass pan. I do this in this recipe for a couple of reasons. If you use glass, you can easily see the underside of the bread to make sure that it is GBS (Golden Brown and Sexy). If you use a dark, non-stick pan, it will cause your bread to get too dark, too fast. 

Now usually when I bake bread, I will pick up the loaf and gently knock on the bottom to see if it sounds hollow. If it does sound hollow, your bread if ready to be pulled out of the oven. Unfortunately with focaccia, this is not possible. 

Most bread is fully cooked when the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190^o F. Here’s what I do to check if my focaccia is done: First, I look at it. If it is GBS, I move on to the toothpick trick. If it is still pale, I will stick it back in for another 5-10 minutes. Once it is GBS, I take a toothpick and stick it in the thickest part of my bread for a few seconds. Once I pull it out, I quickly press it to my bottom lip. If it feels hot on my lip, and there are no sticky particles on it, the bread is done. 

Shout out to my friend, Justin, for requesting a bread recipe! If any one else has any recipes that they would like to see on the blog, feel free to e-mail me at: mainegirlbaking@gmail.com

Easy-Peasy Rosemary And Maine Sea Salt Focaccia

This is one of the easiest bread recipes that I have. The bread is light, fluffy, and there is no need to knead (haha). It takes just under two hours to make yummy bread. This bread can be used for grilled cheese, pulled pork sandwiches, or just dipping it into some olive oil for a nice snack.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Proof Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Servings 12 Pieces

Ingredients

  

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil for the pan
• 1 packet or 2 1/4 teaspoons of Active Dry Yeast
• 1 1/2 Cups Warm Water 110° F See notes at bottom
• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Toppings

• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Maine Sea Salt or any type of sea salt
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Instructions

 

• Bloom your yeast. To bloom, place your warm water into your mixing bowl, and sprinkle your yeast on top. Wait until the yeast looks foamy, and the water looks murky. Once bloomed, add all of the rest of your ingredients to the mixing bowl. See notes.
• Once you have added all of your ingredients to your bowl, start the mixer on low to incorporate all of your ingredients. Once your dough comes together, turn your mixer to medium-high speed and mix for about a minute. When the dough stops sticking to the side of the bowl and starts to make a smacking sound, it is time to move on to the next step. If it is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, again, run your mixer on medium-high for 30 more seconds.
• In a 9×13 glass pan: grease the pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and scoop your dough into the pan. Spread out dough with your fingers. It will be sticky.
• Once it’s spread out, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area. A good trick is to pre-heat the oven (350°F), while your bread is in the mixer, then when your bread is ready for proofing, place it on top of the oven and let the ambient heat proof it. If you choose not to do this, preheat your oven (350°F) when your bread has been proofing for about 45-50 minutes. Your bread will be proofed when it has doubled in size.
• Once your bread has proofed, take your fingers and poke holes into your dough. Then, take your remaining two tablespoons of oil and drizzle over the top of your focaccia. Sprinkle with the sea salt and the fresh rosemary.
• Bake for 20 minutes, and then rotate. Bake for another 20 minutes. Check to see if its done (see notes). If it needs more time, bake it for five more minutes, then check again.

Notes

The recipe says warm water to bloom your yeast. If you have a kitchen thermometer, your water should be at about 110 degrees F. If you don’t have a thermometer, your water should be warm to the touch. People generally run around 98.6 degrees F, so you want your water to be slightly warm to the touch but not hot. If the water is too hot, it will kill your yeast, and it will not bloom.

Most bread is fully cooked when the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit. So, to check if my focaccia is done, I start by looking at it. If it is GBS, I move on to the toothpick trick. If it is still pale, I will stick it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Once it is GBS, I take a toothpick and stick it in the thickest part of my bread for a few seconds. Once I pull it out, I quickly press it to my bottom lip. If it feels hot on my lip, and there `are no sticky particles on it, the bread is done.