- Today, I'm gonna show you how to make,
wait, what are we making?
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Okay. (chuckles)
I'm gonna show you how to make focaccia.
This is so easy.
(upbeat music)
Hey everybody, It's Natasha of natashaskitchen.com
and I'm gonna show you how to make
a classic Italian focaccia.
The texture of this is incredible.
So crisp on the outside, super soft inside,
and you don't have to wait overnight.
This is quick to make, very little active time,
and wait until you see our favorite bread dip.
You're going to love it.
And I want some bread, so let's get started.
(counter thudding)
(Natasha laughs)
We'll start with one and a half cups of warm water
and I like to have that
between 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
I'll leave a link to the thermometer I use in the notes.
Stir in one teaspoon of honey until it's dissolved,
then add in one packet or seven grams of instant yeast.
Once the yeast is stirred in,
let that sit and rest for about five to seven minutes,
or until you see a foamy layer on the surface.
This indicates that the yeast is good
and it'll help jumpstart our recipe.
We're using our favorite digital kitchen scale
and I will leave a link to this in the notes.
Zero out your mixing bowl.
And we're gonna get exactly three and three-fourths cups
or about 470 grams of all purpose flour.
If you don't have a kitchen scale,
make sure you measure correctly.
Spoon the flour into a dry ingredient measuring cup
then scrape off the top.
Now whisk in one and a half teaspoons of salt.
Pour your yeast mixture into the center of the flour.
Use a mixing spoon to stir that together
until the liquid is incorporated
into the flour and you don't see any more dry flour.
You should end up with a sticky mass of dough.
Next, add one tablespoon of good extra virgin olive oil
and use your hands to mix it in.
Work the oil into the dough until it's fully absorbed.
Now cover the top with plastic wrap
and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature
until it's visibly puffed.
If you're working in a colder environment
or want to speed up the process,
try our microwave trick.
Add a damp towel to the microwave for about a minute
to heat it up, then turn it off and place the bowl inside,
letting it rest.
While the dough is proofing,
I like to make the topping ahead of time,
so the oil infuses with rosemary and garlic flavor.
In a small mixing bowl,
combine two tablespoons of water with two tablespoons
of extra virgin olive oil, half a teaspoon of salt
and we'll need about one and a half teaspoons
of finely chopped rosemary from two rosemary sprigs.
Simply pull the leaves off of the sprigs
and finely chop them up.
Also, finely mince and add two large garlic cloves.
Now thoroughly mix that topping together,
until it's well incorporated.
This topping makes the bread
into a garlic rosemary focaccia, and it tastes amazing.
But if you want to, you can also just use olive oil,
water and salt for a simple topping.
You can see the dough is visibly puffed
and about double in size.
To keep your hands from sticking to the dough,
dip them in a bowl of cold water.
Now to get that irresistible focaccia texture,
we need to develop the gluten strands in the dough.
Gently pull the dough up on one side without tearing it,
then fold it over onto itself.
Rotate the bowl and repeat the process
until you've done four stretch and folds.
Pull up gently making sure not to tear the gluten strands.
Now cover the bowl and let it rest and puff
for another 30 minutes.
Repeat the stretch and fold process three more times,
making sure to cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes
between each time.
We're gonna do the third set of four stretch and folds,
letting it rest for 30 minutes afterwards.
After the fourth set of stretching and folding,
we're gonna transfer the dough right away
to a well-oiled baking pan.
I love using a 9 X 13 pan
for focaccia because you can make it thicker,
which works great for sandwiches.
Add one fourth cup of extra virgin olive oil
to the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan.
Now transfer the dough over the oil
and turn it to coat the dough in oil.
Gently stretch the dough to fit the pan.
If you find it's difficult to stretch the dough,
and it doesn't want to budge, just cover it and let it rest
for 15 minutes, then work the dough to the edges of the pan.
Once the dough is relaxed, it's much easier to stretch.
Just be sure to gently stretch the dough without tearing it.
Once you've finished stretching your dough,
and it's about the size of your baking pan,
cover and let that proof for about 45 to 60 minutes
or until it's visibly risen and puffy.
Now to create those classic focaccia dimples,
dip your hands into cold water,
then press them directly into the dough
press them in quickly and firmly without breaking
all the way through the dough.
It'll look a little bit like playing the piano.
I like to go over the dough two or three
to create plenty of dimples.
Quickly whisk your garlic rosemary topping,
in case it's separated,
then evenly drizzle it over the top of your focaccia.
Now last but not least,
sprinkle about a teaspoon of kosher salt
over the top of your focaccia.
Now bake in the center of a preheated oven
at 450 degrees Fahrenheit,
for 22 to 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
I love to bake for 25 minutes, giving it a chance
to form a great crisp edge.
Once it's out of the oven,
transfer it right away to a wire rack.
You want to get it out of the pan
so that the bottom doesn't get steamy,
otherwise you'll lose that crispy crust.
Now let it cool for at least five minutes
before slicing into it.
All right.
Our bread is just a little bit warm still,
and that's okay because I am getting rather impatient.
I want some of this.
My kitchen smells so good right now.
I'm just gonna go for it.
Let's do this taste test.
I want to show you what's inside.
Check this out.
Okay, here we go.
Look at this.
Get in close.
Yes. (laughs)
It is so tall and fluffy.
Make this, and it'll become your new favorite bread.
And thankfully, it's easy.
I mean, you can get started on a dinner party
and start your bread and have it ready by dinner time.
You don't have to wait overnight.
That's the best part, seriously.
Okay.
And then, okay, so everything about this is good,
from the top to bottom.
Look at this crisp crust.
Listen to the crunch.
(bread crunching)
I'm excited.
Okay.
For obvious reasons, 'cause I get to eat this.
Okay, now you can serve this as like a dinner bread.
I'm gonna show you that dip in a second here.
I'm gonna cut some pieces
or you can use it as the best sandwich bread.
And this bread will make a sandwich person out of you.
It is marvelous, as my son would say.
Still smells so good.
So good.
Okay, here we go.
Just cut it into little squares here
so we can get to this taste test faster.
All right.
Now it's time to serve this
and that dip that I was telling you about.
I learned this in an Italian restaurant
and it's so easy and so good.
And it also looks really fancy.
So if you're throwing a dinner party, try this.
Seriously.
Okay, so all you need is some good extra virgin olive oil.
We're gonna put this in a shallow dish.
Pour that into a little ramekin,
followed by some balsamic vinegar
and a crackle of fresh black pepper.
All right, let's get this taste test rolling.
And seriously, focaccia is not like any other bread.
Everything from the texture to it smells so good.
And then it has a ton of flavor.
You can change this up and add so many different toppings.
Check out my notes and my posts to see more ideas.
But this has to be my favorite.
All right, we're going in, going in for the sauce.
I hope you try it with this sauce.
It's so easy and super yummy.
Okay and because there's a lot of olive oil
already in this bread, it's what makes the crust so crispy.
It's just a perfect match to dip it in some more.
Why not?
Okay.
Mm.
This makes me so happy.
Crispy crust.
So soft.
I mean, it's like melt in your mouth,
cotton soft inside, and the top,
you can really taste the rosemary and the garlic.
I love that it's infused in the oil.
So it just kind of penetrates the top of the bread.
This is a must try and my kids love this.
So I'm gonna get my son in here for a taste test.
David!
Come on over.
Taste test.
Pick a piece, any piece.
He went for the big one.
Take a bite.
Ooh.
You hear the crunch?
How is it?
Good?
Yeah.
Like favorite ever?
(Natasha chuckles)
All right, we're gonna enjoy our bread.
I hope you guys make this recipe today
and the sauce and we'll see you in our next video.
Hey!
Seriously.
Honey, this is so good.
Come and get some.
- [Husband] I know, I know.
- David, come on! - Back for more.
- Back for more.
- 'Kay, let me finish my bread.
- More sauce? - You can bring it with you.
- Mm.