Thursday, February 03, 2011

Onions and Pine Nuts Focaccia

I always like focaccia. I’ve learned to bake this bread when I took up Italian baking lesson at New York Culinary School with the famous pastry chef and cook books writer Nick Malgieri. It is rustic and very easy bread to make which requires no kneading to the dough. The most common topping to this bread are olives, anchovies and rosemary but you can actually put any type of topping to it. I will usually put fresh basil and tomatoes but today I used onions, pine nuts and parmesan cheese. We had this freshly baked bread with some salad for our dinner.

Dough Ingredients:

4 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1 envelope/ 7 grm active dry yeast
1 2/3 cups warm water (110 degree F)
3 tbsp of olive oil




Topping:

1 large sweet onion – slice very thinly
½ cup pine nuts
1 tsp dried oregano
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste


1. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and stir well to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the yeast into the water and add in the oil.
2. Use a large rubber spatula to make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the liquid and use the spatula to begin stirring in the center of the bowl, gradually stirring in a circle toward the sides of the bowl, incorporating more flour as you go.
3. When all the flour has been incorporated, the dough will still be fairly soft. Continue to stir and fold the dough a few times with the spatula until no dry bits of flour remain.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature in the room. In the mean time prepare a sheet pan. Grease it generously with olive oil.
5. Scrape the dough into a prepared sheet pan. Lightly oil your hands to prevent sticking and press down on the dough so it evenly fills the pan. If the dough resists, cover it with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes before continuing.
6. Cover the pan with oiled plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled again, up to 1 hour. Uncover the dough and use your fingertips to gently dimple the dough. Scatter the slice onions on top, follow by the pine nuts. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and lastly oregano, salt and pepper.
7. Drizzle a bit of olive oil all over the top. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree F about 30 minutes or until brown. Let the focaccia cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then use a wide metal spatula to slide it onto a rack to finish cooling.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

thk u so much for sharing this recipe. i'm going to bake it for my kids dinner tonight :)
1. should i use bread flour or all purpose flour?
2. what is the estimate serving portion of this recipe?
Liz

Anonymous said...

3. what is the dimension of the sheet pan used?
thks alot. Liz

Kym Kym said...

This recipe really sound easy. Not alot of washing and not machine required. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

You have a few focaccia recipes, which one would you most recommend to try or gives the best texture? thank you v much. Kelly

Sarah said...

Gong Xi Fa Cai. I thought you might take a break for a couple of days. Your focaccia bread looks divine. Yum.

Shereen said...

I have always wanted to bake focacia bread but somehow until today,I haven't baked any!!..lazy.I must,must bake this one day soon.

Retno Prihadana said...

When I saw this bread in supermarket I´d like to buy it. I think someday I´ll try to bake it in my kitchen, thank you for sharing the recipe

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Gert, sorry for not able to visit your blog for past few weeks. I always like focaccia esp with Rosemary. May you and your family have a prosperous and happy lunar new year! Hope to see you soon.

busygran said...

It looks so good to be eaten on its own! Happy Lunar New Year to you and family!

ICook4Fun said...

Liz, I used AP flour in most of my baking here unless stated otherwise. I used 16" x 11" sheet pan but it all depend on how thick your want to the bread to be.

Kym Kym, yes all you need is a mixing bowl.

Kelly, all the recipe are good but this dough is the easiest to make.

Sarah, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too. ha ha over here we don't even get a day off for CNY. It is just like any other day.

Shereen, this is so easy. No kneading at all. Just mix and let it proof. Now all your guest left so you have all the time to do :)

Retno, you are welcome.

Sonia, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too. Long time didn't hear from you. Hope everything is well.

Busygran, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too.

Meg Luby said...

cooking with pine nuts is always a good idea. thanks for sharing! looks phenomenal!
-meg
@ http://www.clutzycooking.blogspot.com
@ http://www.myscribblednotebook.blogspot.com

ma'chiks said...

hi, foccasia something new to me...i must try this, thank u for the idea and the recipe.