“ALL SORROWS ARE LESS WITH BREAD.” Miguel de Cervantes
I’ve always felt that my kitchen is a great therapeutic place for me. No matter what I am trying to create, I guess the focus that baking requires, trains you to keep your mind on the task at hand and forget everything else! And if you can do that, if you can set aside time and tune out everything else, it can be downright peaceful! Combine that with the warm, earthy scent of bread baking in your oven, and life can feel absolutely blissful! I don’t know why I don’t bake bread more often! I think it’s one of those things that intimidate me a bit. But all it takes really is a bit of flour, yeast, water, olive oil, salt and patience! Some things just can’t be rushed! And for me, the challenge is waiting for the dough to rise! Again, I chose an incredibly easy recipe for foccacia from Lorraine Pascale (I just love her simple techniques)! Just check out how simple this recipe is……
Aside from the toppings you may wish to use, this foccacia uses only 5 basic ingredients. I chose to top mine with about a heaping teaspoon each of chopped, sundried tomatoes and black olives. And I used about 3 sprigs of thyme.
And what I love is that you basically put all of these ingredients in the bowl of your mixer. Snap on your dough hook and all the work is done for you!
You will need:
500 grams of white bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 (7gram) sachet of fast acting yeast
80 ml (3 oz) olive oil
5-9 oz of warm water
sea salt for sprinkling & whatever herbs you may want. This was originally made with just rosemary and sea salt.
Lightly dust a baking pan with flour.
Add your flour, yeast, salt, olive oil, and about 5 oz of warm water (to start) in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. You may eventually add all of the water, but you want to add it slowly. You want the dough to be soft but not sticky. The dough should be loose and pillowy and the more water you can add the lighter the bread will be. So I started with 5 oz, and added it one ounce at a time. Mix this with your dough hook on medium speed. Once all the water has been added to give your dough the texture you like, continue to mix with your dough hook for about another 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the dough hook and form into a ball. If it is ready, it will spring back when poked with a finger.
Shape and roll the dough onto your baking sheet into a 12 inch by 8 inch oval. Loosely cover with plastic wrap sprayed with olive oil but wrapped airtight. Set in a warm spot to rise for about an hour.
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Once the dough has doubled in size, poke holes in it at regular intervals. Trim pieces of herb and place in the holes and sprinkle with course sea salt.
Bake for about 20 minutes, remove from the oven, sprinkle with sundried tomatoes and olives and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes, until the bread is pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle with olive oil. I have tried baking this in the past adding my tomatoes and olives from the beginning, but I found them to burn. Also, adding these ingredients at the last 10 minutes did not affect the rise of the bread at all.
Serve this with olive oil or as I did, with a premixed dipping oil that I found at World Market, which also has parmesan cheese in it. There are also many varieties at your local markets these days.
This was warm and satisfying and just what my soul needed today.
Lorraine was right again….simple and easy! I hope you enjoy!
The foccacia looks beautiful. I somehow do not have what it takes to make bread. Maybe it’s the rising thing or maybe it’s when it’s in the bowl being mixed with the hook. I don’t seem to understand how dough should look or something. I should take a bread baking class maybe. Seriously Anne this foccacia looks amazing and I would kill to be able to make bread like this.
Thanks Susie….and can I tell you something? Other than making popovers….this is my first try at bread! Which is why I picked something easy that gets mixed in one bowl with the dough hook! If you look up Lorraine Pascale….you will find her BBC segments of her cooking shows and this one on foccacia….really makes it easy! You CAN do it! : )
Lovely bread. I thought baking a foccacia is tough but you made is look so easy! thanks for sharing. Buzzzzzed
Thanks so much! And I’m a bit intimidated by bread making….but I started with this particular foccacia just because it was so easy! Whew! : )
Ahhh yes, sometimes all the soul needs is gorgeous bread. Anne, this is like a work of art. I will have to try make this the old fashioned way as I no longer have a dough hook, but I know it will be worth the effort.
Aww thanks Hester. And you know what? I’m going to be adding more bread recipes. But I am going to make some the old fashioned way, too. I think the kneading and nurturing that goes into it is very good for the soul! : )
Beautiful bread Anne!! I wish I had the patience to bake bread. I really want to get there….I need to be more zen in my kitchen. I’m more like a hurricane when I cook.
I’m glad you had such a wonderful baking experience and then you were left with such a delightful result. Beautiful pictures! Have a great week. ~ Ramona
Thanks Ramona! I remind myself, before I start baking, to slow down and take my time. My kitchen used to look like a hurricane hit when I was done! But taking it more in stride, now! I hope you have a wonderful week as well! : )
I totally agree, my kitchen is my feel good therapy. Especially in making bread as the entire process is a work of love. And this one turned out beautifully.
Thanks Linda! I am so happy when in the kitchen these days. It really is ‘feel good therapy’! And bread baking is teaching me much needed patience! : )
Bread making can be so therapeutic, especially when the aroma is wafting from the oven! Would have loved to been there to enjoy the whole process, especially the tasting at the end. Your bread looks delicious, definitely an enjoyable treat!
Thanks Tina….and when I visit your blog….I often think I wish I were in your kitchen with you! You come up with the most creative recipes….often leaving me longing for a taste! : )
Simply delicious looking! I love the close-up shots of this yummy bread!
Thanks so much. I just love taking close ups….even though the food porn sites seem to frown upon those pictures! Ha! : )
That’s so funny that you posted that this morning! I was lying in bed having a hard time falling asleep last night and started thinking about making foccacia. I actually ran to the store first thing this morning to grab some more yeast!
Jen…great minds think alike! I am certain your foccacia will be amazing and I can’t wait to see your post!!! : )
Oooh I’ve never made foccacia before, I’m going to have to try this recipe soon
Ryan….I hope you try it because it really was soooo easy! : )
My kitchen is my favorite place to be. I was just thinking today that I think I could be in my kitchen all day, every day and be okay with that. It’s just this place I can nurture my creative side, all while providing for my family’s well being and it gives me a space of my own. It’s amazing how something that has to be a part of each day can still be the best part. You read my mind today with your post. Thank you.
Sheri…I couldn’t agree more! You know how it is….when you have friends over…somehow…everyone congregates in the kitchen! And there’s a reason for that. It’s just such a comforting place for most people! You are right…if we have to be in the kitchen several times a day….why not make it a creative, nurturing experience?! : )
Anne, these photos are STUNNING! And I love the flavor profile in this bread! To baking and being blissful!
Thanks Tiffany! And may we both find bliss in the coming year! : )
Foccacia is such a versatile bread and because of that is enormously fun to bake. Sundried tomatoes and olives go perfectly together as well, so this is without doubt going in the recipe rolodex for future delectation!
Thanks guys and Happy New Year! Bread baking can be so versatile…so I’m going to try to do much more of it this year! : )
This bread is so pretty, Anne! I love foccacia, the addition of thyme and sun-dried tomatoes is awesome!
Thanks Cassie….I love foccacia and a little olive oil to dip it in….doesn’t take much to make me happy! ;- }
This looks so pretty (and utterly delicious) Anne! I love the flavors you have going on here and being a sun dried tomato fan, I will have to try this. Yummy!
Thanks Janet…delicious AND easy! And I could put sun dried tomatoes in just about anything! : )
I adore foccacia and I bet this tastes so good with the sundried tomatoes, olives, and thyme!
I adore foccacia, too….with a little olive oil and a nice glass of wine. Mmmmm!
I love foccacia but I’ve never got around to baking it. I like that you added sundried tomatoes and olives. Yum.
I eat foccacia often….but my first time making it….but not my last! : )
Any kind of yeast bread is good for the soul! I love all of the smells associated with the rise, the cook and right when it comes out of the oven. This foccacia is irresistible meaning it would last about 30 minutes tops! It’s been bookmarked!
MJ….you know what I love? The feel of the dough in your hands when you take it out of the bowl and are forming it into a round. The feel….the scent…..it’s all good! : )
Even though I am planning a dessert table I am finding lots of savories that would fit perfectly. This is one of them.
Oooooh! I’m coming over to see the dessert table!!! This is going to be fabulous as usual! I’m sure you can change this up a bit and make it a little sweet and savory, too! : )
I can only imagine what your house smelled like as this baked! Oh yum! It looks fabulously delicious!
Chris…I love the smell of dough….even before you begin to bake it! Thanks so much and fortunately it was fabulously easy! : )
All Sorrows Are Less with Bread… hee.hee, ain’t it the truth! And I agree, my kitchen is the best form of therapy I’ve ever received…
wonderful toppings here Anne – sundried tomato and olive… my mouth is watering with delight.
Kelly…..the baking of the bread is so therapeutic….the eating of the bread is so comforting!!! : )
Your foccacia is just spectacular–I was thinking about making some this weekend, and I think this may be the push I need to do this!
Thanks so much! I hope you make some this weekend…..so easy and so good! : )
I find the kitchen to be so very therapeutic, especially when I have to time to get lost in baking. My go-to foccacia recipe uses rosemary and sea salt but I love all the different things you have going on with this recipe- lovely work as usual!
Sarah….I love having time in the kitchen when I am not rushing to put something on the table! The next time I make this will definitely be with rosemary. (I just had some thyme from another recipe that I wanted to use up!) Thanks so much! : )
Fantastic! I LOVE, love, love foccacia and your flavor combination is GREAT! Split those babies in half – the make GREAT sandwiches and/or paninis!
Thanks Ann! EXCELLENT idea!!! I LOVE the way you think! ;- )
Oh, your foccacia looks amazing, Anne! And I love the olives on top….mmmmmm.
Oh thanks Liz! This was pretty yummy! : )