I am a huge fan of flatbreads, but I like them a certain way: chewy rather than fluffy and breadlike, and packed with flavour. I’ve had my share of flatbreads that had hardly any flavour, as well as flatbreads that really should have been called “a one-inch high slab of bread”.
Luckily for me, last month we finally bought a KitchenAid Pro Mixer, and since then, Ward’s been experimenting with a variety of different baked goods - including this fabulous Rosemary Foccacia he made for us today. This was his second try at the recipe, and it was very very good; even better than the first time, and that first time, we all raved about it.
We got the recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, which we’ve been liking a lot so far. It’s filled with a ton of recipes (over 700 of them), and in true America’s Test Kitchen fashion, there are lots of step by step photos. For someone new-to-baking like Ward, it’s been a great resource. (Mind you, he really has a knack for this; his first creations with the new mixer were this very same foccacia, and gingerbread cookies, and both were really good.)
Today’s foccacia was perfect: chewy and moist, and fragrantly flavoured with just the right touch of salt. It came out of the oven right around when the kids got home from school, and it made the perfect after-school snack.
Rosemary Focaccia
Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
Ingredients:
1 medium russet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch-thick pieces
17-1/2 to 18-1/4 ounces (3-1/2 to 3-3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2-1/4 tsp (1 envelope) instant or rapid-rise yeast
1-1/4 tsp table salt
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
coarse salt (sea salt or kosher - we used kosher)1. Simmer potato pieces in 3 cups of water in a small saucepan. Cook until potato is tender, about ten minutes. Check for tenderness by piercing with a fork. Transfer potato pieces from the water to a small bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the potato cooking water. Set aside to cool until just warm. Let potato cool enough to handle. Grate on the large holes of a box grater. You should have about 1 cup of potato, lightly packed.
2. Mix the cooked potato, 17-1/2 ounces (3-1/2 cups) of flour, 2 tbsp oil, the yeast and the table salt in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Turn the mixer on low speed, and add the reserved potato cooking water. Mix until the dough comes together, approximately 2 minutes.
3. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. After about 4 minutes of mixing, if you find you need more flour, add the remaining flour 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand into a smooth, round ball. Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
5. Grease an 18 X 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with 1/4 cup oil. Press the dough into the baking sheet using wet hands. Brush dough with 1 tbsp more oil, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 to 75 minutes.
6. Place oven rack in lower-middle position, and heat oven to 425 degrees F. Using wet fingertips, dimple the surface of the dough. Aim for dimples about 1/8 of an inch deep. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp of oil, and sprinkle with the chopped rosemary and coarse salt.
7. Bake until the bottom of the bread is golden and crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet about halfway through the baking time.
8. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
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