Monday, August 31, 2009

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!

6 comments:

  1. That is GORGEOUS!! Wow, I'm so impressed and I LOVE your in-progress shots. Awesome. Makes me want to make it again right now. Well done!

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  2. Great job Angela. Your focaccia looks perfect!

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  3. You bread looks great. Love this one. A worthy signature bread.

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  4. WOW...you are quite the gourmet! Looks decadent! You better not fatten me up next week!

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  5. Your focaccia looks so good! Gorgeous! I loved making the focaccia! Happy Baking!

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  6. Awesome color on the crust. Simply golden! My favorite photo is of the poolish making a bubble on the plastic wrap. Reminds you that the yeast, as well as the bread, is alive.

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