I have had pretty hectic days this week, but I was DEAD set in making this focaccia no matter what! The good thing is that we have been eating dinner way before 7, so it did not matter if we had a light or heavy dinner. I made meaty tomato sauce and thin spaghetti for dinner, so I knew the focaccia would be a grand slam. Thanks Katie for a wonderful recipe!
The only thing I DID not do on this recipe was not let the dough rise an extra hour after adding the onions and fixin’s on top. We had a choir rehearsal and needed to be at another rehearsal at 6pm. I left the dough rising the first time at 2:30 until 4:15pm. I punched the dough and proceeded to add the toppings and just bake. My husband and I liked it ALOT! I did not have the lemon and the fresh thyme so I opted for choices that I had available. I will make it again as Katie intended.
Ingredients:
Adapted from: Good Things Catered
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water, 110 degrees
1 1/2 c. milk, room temp
4 Tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp for onion
5 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried thyme (I didn’t have fresh thyme, so I used what I had)
3 small yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced
5 garlic cloves, roasted (or roasted while dough is rising) and halved from end to end
1/2 cup green olives(I decided that I wanted something tart but not lemony so I omitted the
1/2 lemon, sliced very thin)
kosher salt
Directions
-In medium bowl, combine warm water and sprinkle with yeast.
-Let stand until frothy, about 5-10 minutes.
-Meanwhile combine flour, salt and thyme in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
-Once yeast mixture is frothy, add milk and olive oil and stir to combine well
-Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and turn mixer on low to combine well.
-Fit mixer with bread hook and knead until mixture is not sticky, but springy and elastic, about 5 minutes.
-Remove dough from bowl, wipe out, spray with non-stick spray, knead dough on counter into a ball.
-Place dough back into bowl, cover with a cloth and let sit in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
-Meanwhile, in a small pan over medium low heat, add an additional olive oil until hot.
-Add onions to pan as well as a hefty pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, on low until caramelized, about 25-30 minutes.
-Place in bowl and set aside.
-Once dough is risen, spray a large jelly roll pan with nonstick spray.
-Punch dough down and spread out over jelly roll pan evenly.
-Top with caramelized onions, halved roasted garlic, and lemon slices.
-Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-Using finger tips, make small indentations across the dough.
-Drizzle very lightly with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle top with kosher salt to taste, and place in oven to bake.
-Bake until turning slightly golden brown, about 25-30minutes.
-Remove from oven, let cool for at least 5 minutes, cut and serve.
