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Bread. Delicious rosemary-scented, olive oil glistening focaccia bread. There’s nothing like it. I was 21 years old and had just hiked the Cinque Terre in Italy on Spring break from my studies in Vienna, Austria while abroad in college. And I entered the last town, famished after hiking beautiful cliffs all day and found myself sitting at a cafe eating large slices of pesto focaccia bread. And ever since, it’s been somewhat of a comfort food for me. Rosemary marries so well with olive oil on this crispy yet tender bread covered in flake salt that you may as well prepare yourself to eat a ton of it. It goes really well with yesterday’s soup recipe!

I found this recipe on Gimme Some Oven and it’s a good one. You can follow hers to a T or make a few adjustments which is what I did. I found bread flour worked better for me and I had it on hand but it works fine with all-purpose flour. I also like the subtle hint that a tiny bit of garlic powder adds. It doesn’t taste garlicky, it just adds an extra flavor dimension. I upped the fresh rosemary and chopped it fine. Fresh is definitely better. Don’t skimp on the flake salt, add that to your grocery list and pick up the next time you go. It adds a lot of flavor and crunch to the top.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 C Warm Water (about 110 degrees F)

2 tsp honey

1 Package Active Dry Yeast

3 1/2 C Bread Flour

1/4 C Olive Oil

2 tsp Flakey Salt + extra for the top

2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary (reserving 1 Tbsp for the top)

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by proofing your yeast. I fill a liquid measuring cup with warm water (110 degrees measured with a thermometer), add my 2 tsp honey and add my yeast packet. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. You’ll start to see the yeast bubbling in the water.

Meanwhile, in a Kitchen Aid mixer with dough hook (or large mixing bowl) add your flour, salt, chopped rosemary and garlic powder. On slow, add in yeast mixture and olive oil. Knead for 5 minutes on medium until a soft dough comes together and forms a ball. I add sprinkles of flour if need be to get that ball to form and prevent it from sticking to the edge. You can easily knead by hand it just takes more work.

I like to rise my bread in the barely-warmed oven. Start to heat it for 30 seconds to 1 minute so it is barely warm. The key here is remember to turn the oven off. Too hot of an oven kills the yeast. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover to prevent a skin from forming on the dough. Let it rise for 45-60 minutes until doubled in size.

Once it has risen, I put the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and stretch it slightly, about 1 ” thick. I like my focaccia thicker. Cover it again and let rise for 20 more minutes back in the oven.

Pull it out of the oven and set aside while you start preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

Push down with the tips of your fingers to make indentations in the focaccia bread. Drizzle all over with good California olive oil and sprinkle with the reserved tablespoon of chopped rosemary and a generous sprinkle of flake salt.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. It’s so delicious. Enjoy! If this isn’t your bread of choice, make sure you stop by and check out my friend’s recipes below.

These beautiful pictures of the Rosemary Focaccia Bread were taken by Ruth Eileen Photography.