Garlic & Herb Focaccia - Poolish Version

Focaccia - this recipe seemed quite detailed & time intensive - but well worth the effort! Here's the poolish starter: bread flour, yeast & water.

Ferment at room temperature for 3-4 hours.

Very bubbly - the poolish went into the fridge overnight.

Here is my kitchen helper selecting the herbs to prepare the herb oil...

Sage, basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme & oregano

A bit of garlic...

One cup olive oil...

A beautiful medley of flavors & colors...

The next morning - dry ingredients...

The poolish taken out of the fridge an hour prior to use to take the chill off...

Dry ingredients blended with the wet...

A sticky blob of dough...

A transformation after 6 minutes of kneading by my KitchenAid Professional 600...

Dough on floured surface...(poor photos when your countertop is the same color as the dough...)

Dough patted into a rectangle & let rest for 5 minutes...

Stretch & fold method...

Cover & let rest for 30 minutes...

Stretch & folded & rested dough a total of 3 times...

After the third rest period...

Dough covered & allowed to ferment at room temperature for one hour...It is almost the same size as the 12"x17" pan...

Placed dough in parchment lined pan drizzled with olive oil...

Dimpled dough & drizzled half of the herbed olive oil mixture...

Covered with plastic wrap & proofed for 2 hours at room temperature...

Big & bubbly!

A side view after the 2 hour proof...

Dimpled dough again & added more herb oil about 30 minutes prior to baking...

Side view after second dimpling...

Dough relaxed for 30 minutes to allow gas to build up again...

Side view - it did rise almost an inch as the recipe said...

Baked for 20 minutes total in 450' degree oven - rotating half way though cooking time...internal temperature read 209'degrees

BEAUTIFUL! & the aroma was amazing!

Stunning golden crust on the bottom...

Light & airy...

Unfortunately the focaccia did not yield any big air holes as I was hoping...but it was absolutely delicious!

Perfectly paired with wine & an italian dinner with friends! This recipe will definately be made again & experimented with different herbs & toppings...One of my favorites so far!

English Muffins

Its only right...the time had come to retire my 9-year-old classic Kitchen Aid mixer...it was weak...& not up to the challenge of bread...too many near misses with the silly thing walking (or should I say jumping) dangerously close to the edge of the counter...Behold the Kitchen Aid Professional 600!

Ok! English Muffins! My messy mise en place...

Dry ingredients mixed together before adding the shortening & milk...

Paddle attachment formed mixture into a ball & then attached the dough hook...

The result of 8 minutes of kneading...a smooth, silken glob...

Book says ideal is 77'-81'F...a bit warmer in my kitchen...

60-90 minutes fermentation time...

Wow! That more than doubled!

Divide into six pieces of 3 ounces each...

One little straggler left over...plastic placed over balls & another 60-90 minutes of proofing time...

My wonderful Cuisinart Griddler...set at 350'...

Flipped them over after 10 minutes...notice the little indents on the sides - they are from my fingers...note: better to just use a metal spatula & not your fingers...

Each side was on the griddler for about 10 minutes & then placed into a 350'F oven for another 8 minutes...

The result?

BeautifThey rose a lot higher than I expected & kept their shape very well...

They are very tasty! Golden & crisp on the outside & doughy & soft, yet firm on the inside! Reminds me of the muffins served at B&B's across England...