Dessert Focaccia Recipes

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook on low speed, stir in the warm water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, mixing until the flour is completely moistened. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Add the salt and knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. (The dough will tighten up, then begin to relax. After 5 minutes it will be very wet and stick to the bottom of the mixer but not the sides.)
• Rub 2 tablespoons olive oil around the bottom and sides of a large mixing bowl (big enough to hold at least double the volume of the dough). Using a scraper or spatula, transfer the dough to the bowl, flipping once to coat completely with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil into the bottom of an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Use your hands to evenly distribute the oil along the bottom and up the sides. Scrape the dough into the baking sheet, flattening it slightly with your hands. Flip the dough once and gently stretch it to fit into an even layer in the baking sheet. (The dough may not stretch to the edges at this point. If it starts to pull back, let rest 10 minutes and re-stretch, making sure to pull from the center as well as the edges to get an even thickness.) Use your fingertips to make dimples over the surface of the focaccia, pressing firmly but not so hard you make holes in the dough.
• For the brine and finish: Dissolve the kosher salt in 1/3 cup warm water. Drizzle over the surface of the focaccia, letting it pool in the dimples. Cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to relax and rise again.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through, until the focaccia is deep golden brown on the top and bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Drizzle with the olive oil and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to remove the focaccia to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Stir yeast packet into water and allow yeast to bloom. (A light foam should appear on top of the water after about 5 minutes. This means the yeast is alive and active.)
• Add olive oil to water and mix.
• In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, and herbs together.
• Once incorporated, create a small well in the middle and pour in the water/yeast/oil mixture.
• Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn't stick to your fingers. The water and flour should come together and form a rough dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• NOTE: If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Once the dough begins to come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball.
• Coat the bowl the dough was initially mixed in with about a tablespoon of olive oil and place the dough ball inside. Give it a few turns to coat the dough in the oil.
• Cover and let the dough rise until it doubles in size about 1 hour.
• While the dough rises, prepare a large baking sheet by generously coating it with olive oil.
• Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten it out into a large rectangle.
• Using a knife or dough scraper, cut the dough into 4 evenly sized rectangles.
• Press the rectangles flat and arrange them with each one pressed into a corner of the baking sheet.
• Cover and let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450˚F (230˚C) while the dough is resting.
• Depending on the temperature of your kitchen and activeness of the yeast, the 4 rectangles should have risen to be about an 1-inch (2 ½ cm) thick.
• Using your fingers, poke the the dough all over--creating small dimples across the surface.
• Generously coat the tops of the dough rectangles one last time with olive oil (some oil will pool inside of the divots we made with our fingers. That's ok!) Use a basting brush to ensure all of the dough gets covered with olive oil.
• Top the dough rectangles with your choice of toppings. (We did four different combinations, including tomatoes with fresh rosemary, caramelized onions and parmesan cheese, mixed olive with gorgonzola cheese, and 3-cheese using parmesan, mozzarella, and gorgonzola.)
• Once finished with the toppings, liberally sprinkle the breads with a coarse salt.
• Bake at 450˚F (230˚C) for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into equal pieces.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl. Let proof for 10 minutes (until bubbles begin to form).
• In large bowl, stir together flour, salt, sugar, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil, and black pepper.
• Add the yeast mix and vegetable oil to the dry ingredients and combine.
• When dough has pulled together, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat with oil.
• Cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm place 25 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Punch dough down, place on greased baking sheet.
• Pat dough into 1/2-inch thick rectangle (doesn't have to be perfect).
• Using your knuckle, make indentations in the dough about 1/2-inch apart, then prick dough with fork.
• Brush top with olive oil, then sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.

Steps:

• Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix the yeast into one side of the flour, and the fine salt into the other side. Then mix everything together, this initial seperation prevents the salt from killing the yeast.
• Make a well in the middle of the flour and add 2 tbsp oil and 350-400ml lukewarm water, adding it gradually until you have a slightly sticky dough (you may not need all the water). Sprinkle the work surface with flour and tip the dough onto it, scraping around the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-10 mins until your dough is soft and less sticky. Put the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 1 hr until doubled in size.
• Oil a rectangle, shallow tin (25 x 35cm). Tip the dough onto the work surface, then stretch it to fill the tin. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for another 35-45 mins.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Press your fingers into the dough to make dimples. Mix together 1½ tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp water and the flaky salt and drizzle over the bread. Push sprigs of rosemary into the dimples in the dough.
• Bake for 20 mins until golden. Whilst the bread is still hot, drizzle over 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Cut into squares and serve warm or cold with extra olive oil, if you like.

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, dried Italian herbs, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add warm water, warm milk, and 1/4 cup oil; beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Mix in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, switching to a wooden spoon when needed, until a soft and sticky dough is formed.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl, drizzle the sides with 1 tablespoon oil, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Oil an 11x17-inch baking sheet.
• Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently spread and flatten dough to fit the entire sheet. Press your fingers into the dough to make light dimples over the entire surface. Let rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Decorate dough by gently pressing down cherry tomatoes, asparagus, red peppers, bell peppers, olives, dill, sage, parsley, basil, pine nuts, and pepitas. Brush a thin layer of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue to bake until golden and bread springs back when gently pressed, about 20 more minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully slip out onto a cooling rack. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Add water and oil; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Pat each portion flat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Press dough into two greased 12-in. pizza pans. Prick top of dough with a fork. Brush with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Top with nuts. Let stand 10-15 minutes. , Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks. Combine confectioners' sugar and enough cream to achieve a glaze consistency; drizzle over warm bread.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, proof the yeast by combining it with the warm water and sugar.
• Stir gently to dissolve.
• Let stand 3 minutes until foam appears.
• Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl.
• Dissolve salt in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture.
• Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil.
• When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium.
• Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook.
• Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold over itself a few times.
• Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin.
• Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise over a gas pilot light on the stovetop or other warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil and corn meal.
• Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter.
• Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick.
• Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap.
• Let rest for 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, coat a small saute pan with olive oil, add the onion, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes until the onions caramelize.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips.
• Brush the surface with more olive oil and then add caramelized onions, garlic, olives, cheese, salt, pepper, and rosemary.
• Bake on the bottom rack for 15 to 20 minutes.