Light as Air Focaccia

For New Years, I had to make some black eyed peas to make sure we had some good luck in the new year. To go with it, I wanted a light, crusty bread and only had a few hours. So, I made this recipe form King Arthur flour with their Italian-style Flour. It was good, I added some garlic for a bit of flavor, and some wheat germ and flax seed to healthy it up a bit. The texture was light, with a nice crunch to the crust. I would make it again, and it was very quick to put together.


Light as Air Focaccia

Dough
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Italian-Style Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp ground flax seed
2 tsp wheat germ

Topping
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
coarse salt

Mix together all of the dough ingredients and knead briefly; 5 to 6 minutes, by hand or machine, is all this dough needs.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove it from the bowl, and fold it over a few times, to redistribute the yeast.

Place the dough onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined half-sheet pan (or similar-size pan, about 18 x 13 inches), and pat it out into a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches in size. The dough is very tender and easy to work with. Brush it with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Cover the focaccia, and set it in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.

Just before baking the focaccia, use your fingers to gently dimple the dough every 2 inches or so. Bake it in a preheated 425°F oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until it’s golden brown. Remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool slightly before cutting it into squares.

Yield: about a dozen 4-inch squares.