- Hi guys. (calm music)
Welcome back to my Quarantine Thanksgiving Menu series.
If you're just joining us,
you can get caught up by clicking the playlist below,
and there you will find all of the recipes
that are part of this menu.
We've tackled the main course.
We've done dessert,
and now it is time for some homemade bread.
If you've never made homemade focaccia,
you are in for a treat.
It uses basic ingredients, it's affordable,
and you can make a small batch of it.
And making the small batch will still provide you
with some leftovers
to make a fantastic Thanksgiving leftover sandwich
the next day with your leftover turkey.
Okay, so the first step is to get our yeast going.
So in this pitcher,
I have a cup and 3/4 of warm water.
Now, the temperature of the water is important.
It needs to be anywhere from 110 degrees Fahrenheit
to about 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
If it's too cold, the yeast won't activate.
And if it's too hot, you can actually kill the yeast.
So you want to be somewhere around that range.
And it looks like I'm at about 112,
so we're good to go.
Then we're going to add two teaspoons of sugar,
and the sugar is important
because this is what is going to feed the yeast.
So yeast likes to feed on things like sugar,
or you could even use honey as well.
And then we are going to add a full packet
of active dry yeast.
Here in the States, we get them in little packets.
If you're outside of the States, it's seven grams.
And then you just want to stir this up, and you'll see,
it'll start activating right away.
It'll turn cloudy, and then over time,
that cloudiness will start to turn into foaminess.
Then you want to get out a large bowl,
and you're going add 3 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour.
And then we're also going to add two teaspoons salt.
Then you can just stir that up.
And then we are ready for our yeast mixture.
So you can see how foamy it is right now.
And I am just going to pour that in there.
And then you can use a dough whisk,
or you can use a wooden spoon,
go ahead and just combine the liquid with the flour,
and then just continue to mix it together
until it forms a nice dough ball.
Then you want to get a good amount of flour on your board,
about a tablespoon or so, (claps) just like that,
and then take your dough ball
and kind of knead it around in the bowl
just to make it easier to handle
and so it doesn't stick too much on your board.
And then go ahead and just knead it for a few minutes,
three or four minutes should do the trick,
making sure that you're getting enough flour.
Now, the next thing we want to do is take a cleaned out bowl
and then add about tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom.
And go in with the olive oil
and kind of grease the bowl with your hands,
just to make sure that when we put our dough in here,
it's not going to stick.
And then another thing I like to do is just kind of bathe it
in the olive oil.
You'll find that focaccia bread
really needs a lot of olive oil in different stages,
just to really make sure that you're locking in the flavor.
This looks good.
Then all we have to do is cover it with a dish towel
and put it in a sunny place to rise for one hour.
And you will see just after an hour's time,
you will have the most beautiful, lovely, risen dough,
just like this.
It should really triple in volume.
Okay, so I think the best pan for something like this
would be a square brownie pan.
If you can get one that has a removable bottom like this,
it's even better
because we are going to be putting our caramelized shallots
on top of this bread.
And if you were to flip it over upside down,
some of those shallots might actually fall off.
You don't have to put them back on again.
So if it's all you have, it's okay.
Or another thing you could do would be a cheesecake pan.
So because it has a springform release,
that would also preserve your shallots as well.
Then you want to grease the bottom of your pan
with some olive oil.
You want a good amount, about a tablespoon or so,
because this is going to also help the bottom get
really nice and crispy.
And then I also like to use a pastry brush
to make sure that it's being distributed
into all the corners.
Then you want to make sure that you flour your board.
I put a lot of flour down
just because the olive oil can make the dough pretty sticky.
And then you can just plop it right out.
There, just like that.
You could put a little bit more flour,
just a dusting on the top.
(taps)
Make sure your hands are nice and floured,
and then give it a good knead
for about three to four minutes or so.
You just want to make sure
that you have a really nice, elastic soft dough ball.
Then at this stage, get out your rolling pin,
and just sort of flatten it out.
It doesn't need to be perfect,
because we're actually just gonna press it into our tin,
but it'll just help you get kind of a rough square shape.
Something like that.
Okay, now, back to our pan that we have oiled.
We are all ready to go.
We're just going to plop it in just like that.
And then go ahead and just press it down.
You want to make sure that it's traveling
into the corners here.
Okay, now we are ready for our second rising.
But not to worry,
this is only going to take about 20 minutes,
and it times out perfectly because, during that time,
that's when you'll make your caramelized shallots.
Now, if you wanted to,
you could totally cook the shallots the day before,
and then just transfer them to a bowl
and pop them in the fridge.
Then they would be all ready to go
right before you bake your focaccia.
Okay, so for our shallots,
you're going to want at least a cup's worth
of thinly sliced shallots.
So something like this, almost like paper thin,
and this will create a really nice, thin sliced shallot,
which will caramelize beautifully and look really pretty
once it's on top of our focaccia bread.
So this time of year, I love cooking with fresh thyme.
And the flavor combination of fresh thyme
and caramelized shallots just cannot be beat.
Then we are going to add a tablespoon of olive oil
in a skillet,
and then you can go ahead and add your shallots,
give them a shake and start the cooking.
And then you're going to add a little salt and pepper
just to taste.
Then at this stage,
I really love to use a little bit of balsamic vinegar.
Now, if you don't have it on hand,
you can totally skip it 'cause it can be expensive,
but if you have it sitting in the cabinet,
now would be a good time to use it. (laughs)
So we're going to do about 1/2 a teaspoon.
(shallots sizzle)
Then go ahead and give that a stir.
And see, it give them a beautiful color too, I think.
So then at this stage,
what I like to do is add maybe half the amount of the thyme
just to give these shallots a little bit more flavor
as well,
and then save the other half for on top of the focaccia.
Okay. These look good.
Now, we want these to cool down
'cause we don't want to put these hot shallots
on our rising dough.
We want to make sure that they're at room temperature.
So now that our dough has been rising in our pan,
we can lift this up, and you can see,
it'll be nice and puffy. (tranquil music)
So the next thing we want to do is, just with our hands,
go in and make little indentations in the dough.
And these are these little indentations
that are so associated with focaccia.
You do need to get in there and really stick your fingers in
because it will kind of rise up a little bit,
just to get the right indentation.
Kind of like this.
And then the other thing I like to add
is a good pinch of flaky sea salt,
just to put it on the top.
And it'll also sort of fall down into those little crevices,
just to give a nice salty crunch
to the top of our focaccia bread.
All right, then you can go ahead
and just sprinkle on this delicious shallot mixture
all over the top.
Then we can add the rest of our thyme.
There, it should look like this, all ready for the oven.
Then we are going to place this
in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes,
but at the 20 minute mark, you want to go in there
with a little pastry brush and some olive oil
and just brush the top of it.
That will help it get golden brown and a little bit shiny,
as well as just put additional flavor into this bread.
Okay, I think the best way to slice this
is with a bread knife.
And we're going to get nine slices out of it.
Basically cut it like brownies.
Now you have two ways to go.
You can either serve it like this.
I mean, look at this gorgeous springiness and thickness.
But with everything else going on,
this might be a hefty portion.
I like to keep these large squares
for sandwiches the next day.
So if you're only cooking for four people,
maybe save half of it for sandwiches,
and then serve the other half at the dinner.
And then to do that, what I would do
is take these squares and cut them into little triangles.
So you can just kind of go half way like that.
The little shallots do fall off.
So you have to be careful.
Just kind of plop them back on there.
There we go. See.
And I think that's a really lovely serving
to just do little corners,
because it's so thick.
Okay, so as promised, here is my day after Thanksgiving
go-to sandwich.
So first, toast your focaccia bread.
Okay, then I like to spread a little bit of mayonnaise
on the bottom half.
And then some leftover cranberry sauce for the top half.
Okay, now this might feel a little bit strange,
but don't knock it till you try it.
It is so delicious.
You take some of the leftover stuffing,
and because we did it in muffins,
I'm just going to cut it in half,
and you can share with a family member.
And you're going to put that
on top of the bottom half, okay?
Then you're going to place your turkey on top.
Then you're going to put the top on the sandwich.
And see what ends up happening
is the cranberry sauce marries with the turkey.
'Cause that's on top.
Then you have that delicious stuffing underneath,
and because the stuffing is bread,
and you need a little bit of moisture,
you've got the mayonnaise under that.
It is one spectacular sandwich
and just the perfect way
to round out your Thanksgiving festivities.
All right, you guys.
I'll see you back here next week,
when we're going to tackle some cocktail nibbles
to go with this menu.
All right, I'll see you then, bye.