Focaccia

I tried making a few types of bread with a cast iron skillet.  Focaccia is the one I liked the most.  It is very versatile.  You can eat it as-is or with toppings.  It's not uncommon for people to make sandwiches with it.  The recipe is forgiving and flexible enough in terms of the type and the amount of flour to use, which makes it very novice-friendly.



The Recipe

The Skillet

A 10" cast iron skillet.  Loaf pans and baking sheets are good alternatives.

Ingredients

The Dough

  • 500 - 600 grams of all-purpose flour.  Some recipes call for bread flour.  The more you lean towards 500g, the stickier the dough and the focaccia will be.
  • 1/2 teaspoon of yeast
  • 1-2 teaspoons of table salt
  • 473 ml (2 cups) of warm water
  • 1-2 teaspoons of oil for the surface of the dough and the mixing bowl
Note that you don't need to add sugar because we are letting it rise over a long time.  The yeast will react to the starch in the flour nicely.  Sugar is for speeding up the fermentation process.

Garnish

  • Garlic-infused oil or butter.  Butter would probably lead to better browning of the bread.  I used grape seed oil.
  • Italian seasoning
  • Coarse-grain salt.  I used Kosher salt.

Instructions

The Dough

  1. In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, yeast, and salt well.
  2. Add the warn water.
  3. Stir the mixture well with a whisk or spatula.
  4. Add the oil to the surface of the mixture.  Oil your fingers as well and fold the dough/mixture a few times.  You don't need to knead it.
  5. Make sure the side of the mixing bowl is oiled slightly as well.
  6. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap.
  7. Set the dough aside for 10-20 hours.  I usually leave it on the kitchen counter overnight.  You can leave it in the fridge as well.

Garlic-Infused Oil

  1. Peel and crush all the cloves from a bulb of garlic.
  2. Cover the garlics with oil in a sauce pan.
  3. Heat up the oil on low heat.  I use the lowest setting of my burner, i.e. 1.
  4. Turn off the heat once the garlics look just slightly brown.  Don't burn the garlics.

Focaccia

  1. Add about 1-2 teaspoons of oil to a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.
  2. Move the dough to the skillet as-is.  If the dough is dryer, you can tap it down a bit so it covers the bottom of the skillet better.
  3. Proof the dough the second time for 1-4 hours.  I do this in my oven where I place a bowl of hot water next to the skillet.
  4. At this time, the dough should fully expand in the skillet.  Oil your fingers and then poke the dough all over, all the way down.  I leave half an inch between the holes.  This step creates the uneven surface of focaccia.
  5. Proof the dough for another half hour to an hour.
  6. Cover the top of the dough with Italian seasoning.
  7. Spread the garlic-infused oil and the cloves onto the dough
  8. Sprinkle some Kosher salt
  9. Optionally you can cook the bottom for about 5 minutes on medium heat on the stove.
  10. Bake the Focaccia in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes.

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