Focaccia Bread

Instructions

1. For the dough: Heat water until it's lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. Add all the water.
3. Mix until the liquid is incorporated and ingredients form a sticky dough ball. This is the tricky part. You are wanting the dough to be soft and pliable, so that when you take a piece and stretch it you can see strands of dough. Be firm when you mix it. Put all your weight into it. Using your wrist, firmly push it away from you, then fold in the sides and do it again. If the dough feels too dry and tough, add a little more water.
4. Cover the dough with olive oil and put it in a bowl. The bowl should be twice the height of the dough ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it somewhere warm. (I put it in my BBQ that was turned off, but in full sun.)
5. After about 2-3 hours, if the yeast is activated, the dough will have risen to the lip of the bowl.
6. Grease one (per batch) 9×13 inch sheet pan (a cookie sheet) with more olive oil and a little butter to prevent the dough from sticking.
7. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it toward the center. Rotate the bowl in quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball.
8. Place the ball in the center of the cookie sheet and push the air out of the dough to make a rectangle. Then, with your fingers, create dimples all over the dough.
9. Leave to rest for a second time for 2-3 hours at kitchen temperature.
10. For the toppings: Now for the fun part - the art part of the project. We used several toppings, but all you really need for excellent focaccia is the basic dough recipe, and love.
11. Preheat oven to 425F. Remove rosemary leaves from stems, and discard stems. Quarter tomatoes. Trim ends from green onions.
12. Use onions, tomatoes, and rosemary to make up the flower picture (as in the recipe image), or simply scatter ingredients over the dough.
13. Sprinkle MORE olive oil over everything, and some flaky sea salt.
14. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Rotate pan once bread starts to turn golden underneath, about 20 minutes.
15. Place on a cooling rack. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.
16. The Focaccia stays fresh for about 24 hours and makes a great accompaniment with breakfast eggs the following morning.