Spicy Italian Focaccia
I lost my baking mojo. I’d been on a roll baking and posting, then the holidays hit. And with the holidays came vacation for our oldest. I didn’t bake anything new for the entire week and a half she was off from school. All this week I’d been kicking myself trying to get back in the swing of things. Wednesday I forced myself to sit down and focus. I scoured through some of my favorite recipe binders and cookbooks hoping for inspiration.
This particular focaccia is airy with a slightly crunchy and zesty exterior. The heat level could easily be adjusted to your liking but I think the red pepper flakes give this a nice kick. It’s relatively quick with only 5-10 minutes of active prep time (45 min inactive) and 30 to bake. A big bonus for how easy this is to whip up. It’s absolutely my new obsession. I may or may not have eaten 3/4 of the batch I made. Thankfully I only made half a batch.
I looked for the recipe online with no luck to the original source, but it does specifically mention King Arthur Flour and Fleischmann’s Yeast.
Spicy Italian Focaccia
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 C all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 2/3 C warm water
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2-3/4 tsp dried onion
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large bowl add flour, sugar, salt and yeast. While mixing, slowly pour in 2 tbsp olive oil and warm water. Mix until ingredients are well combined. Transfer dough to a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Spread out the dough using a rubber spatula. Cover and let rise in a warm location for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine cheese and spices. Set aside.
- After the first rise time is up, poke holes throughout your dough using a greased utensil such a wooden spoon, a knife or even your finger. Drizzle with remaining 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with cheese and spice mixture.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Let dough rise for an additional 15 minutes.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden. Immediately remove bread to a cooling rack or cutting board. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing into. Or if you're impatient like me, just carefully slice with a sharp knife while remembering to not compress the bread.