Focaccia

Tags: bread - vegetarian
Active Time: 30 minutes
Passive Time: 12-18 hours
Serves: 6-8

Easy bread with a fantastic crust

Original recipe is for roasted garlic foccacia - to incorporate this, roast 1 head of garlic with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt (see roasted garlic) - prepare 1 day in advance and refrigerate until ready to use. Add the garlic to the dough after step 7 (right before baking), by breaking up peeled cloves into 2-3 large pieces, scattring over surface evenly, then pushing down on each clove until embeded in a deep well of the dough
Original recipe also recommends serving with garlic butter: mince 4 cloves raw garlic. Combine 1 tbsp olive oil with 2 tbsp unsalted butter in a small skillet and melt over medium heat. Add garlic, 2 tsp dried oregano, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant and garlic is just beginning to brown, about 1 minute.
Transfer to a small bowl and season with salt.
Add any sort of flavorings you think sound good, not just limited to garlic!

Mix water and yeast in a bowl. Stir and set aside for 15 minutes
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the water to the center of the well and slowly mix in the flour until no dry flour remains
Oil the sides of the mixing bowl (or transfer to new oiled bowl), being sure to get under the dough
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 8 - 24 hours
Lift sides of dough to release from bowl, it will deflate somewhat
Add 3 tbsp olive oil to a 12 inch cast iron. Turn out the dough onto the oil and press down into pan, pushing oil up and over all parts of the pan. Make sure that the dough is oiled on the top too - this really improves the crust
Cover and let rise for 2 hours. After 1 hour, preheat oven to 550F
Bake for 16 - 24 minutes, until golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a spatula. If not crispy enough, cook on medium heat 1 - 3 minutes
Optional: serve with garlic butter