Lately, I've been addicted to baking any bread, from fluffy to overnight breads. It just smells good, and the making of the dough is so calming. Making bread is easy, it's not rocket science I tell you. Many people thinks it's hard but really simple. All it takes is a lot of P A T I E N C E, as you will make the dough now but you need to wait till tomorrow to bake it and eat it. I know.....PATIENCE is the key here for a yummier bread. As for me, I've tried focaccia since I've been craving the Italianni's focaccia bread, and yeah.....I gave it a try.
Focaccia is a flat oven Italian bread similar to pizza dough. And you know me I'm that kind of person who bakes only with a handful of ingredients. For my focaccia, you only need 5 ingredients. As for the Van "dough", I was inspired by the amazing @vineyardbaker (check him out on instagram, and you will be amazed with all his creations. He is putting art into his bread. So creative!!)
Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
2 tbsp of olive oil (and more)
1 cup of lukewarm water
Instructions:
Make the dough:
To activate the yeast, mix together the yeast, and the lukewarm water (let it sit for 10 minutes until it is completely dissolved. It should be smooth. Do not use a boiling water or cold water because if it's too hot, the yeast will die. If it's cold the yeast will not activate. Make sure it's LUKEWARM water).
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
When the yeast is activated, mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Rub the surface of the dough with olive oil. Transfer it to a greased bowl and cover it with a damp towel or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. For me, it took around 16 plus hours in the refrigerator which is still okay.
Detached the dough from the dough, then after that rotate the bowl in quarter turns as you deflate, turning it into a bowl.
Add again another tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Roll the dough in the oil to coat it all over, forming a bowl. Let the dough rest for 2-3 hours depending on the room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 225C for 25 minutes,
Pour another tbsp of oil into the dough. Rub your hands lightly in the oil to coat, then using all your fingers, press straight down to create deep dimples. Sprinkle some sea salt all over (not too much, or it will be too salty, I've learned my lesson here). And then decorate according to your preference. Some do not put anything, which is okay too. For me, I decorated it with fresh vegetables I found in our garden. I used "malunggay" , tomatoes, onion, scallion, and a pinch of rosemary.
Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes.
The recipe was adapted from alexandracooks.com
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