Tuesday, February 5, 2013

TWD: Focaccia

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Craig Kominiak






I have been sitting here for a couple of hours thinking what I want to say about this bread. Even with my notes in front of me I am at a loss for words; the dreadful writer's block monster has reared it's ugly head. (This may not be a bad thing!)

Our host for this recipe is Sharmini of Wandering Through. She will have the recipe on her blog should you be inclined to give this tasty bread a try yourself.

To read some very creative posts and to view beautiful pictures, head over to Tuesdays with Dorie site and check out the LYL: Focaccia link to check out the other bakers results on this weeks recipe.

Success meter (1-3): 3

Edit: In my bout with writer's block I failed to mention that the design element should be credited to my sister. She had brought something similar to our Oscar party a few years back.

You start with a few simple ingredients: Water, yeast, olive oil, all purpose flour and salt.

My toppings of choice: Marinated artichoke hearts, oregano, sage, thyme, jalapeños, tomatoes, and cheese.

 
 I finally get to use the salt I received at Christmas from my mother-in-law.

After an overnight rest in the fridge shape your dough and let rise once again.
The recipe in Baking with Julia calls to make three smaller focaccia loaves. I chose to make one large loaf and followed the directions for forming and cooking times from Fine Cooking magazine.

A space heater does wonders for heating up the kitchen on cool days to help speed up the rising process.

 
Final rise complete. Ready for the toppings!

 
I scored the dough after "dimpling" it. I left three squares herb only, topped another with sliced tomatoes, one with the marinated artichokes hearts and the last with jalapeño peppers. Then I sprinkled all with some ground white pepper and the Himalayan salt. A few minutes before removing from the oven I added shredded cheese over the jalapeños. 




The jalapeño and artichoke squares were my favorite.


 
The "plain" squares would benefit from more herbs.

 
Love the salt!

I used the extra toppings to make the best scrambled eggs ever!












22 comments:

  1. It looks really gorgeous Cathleen, and the idea of dividing the flavors is wonderful!

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  2. It looks absolutely lovely! Love the idea of dividing the toppings. Thanks for baking along.

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  3. Beautiful! I like the idea of just making one large loaf of this - it would certainly make things a little easier! And yours came out so puffy and fluffy, just the way I like my focaccia. Well done!

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  4. Beautiful results! I wish I had the patience to wait for my dough to rise properly. Your's looks like it rose perfectly, well done!

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  5. What an amazing job!!!!!
    Your foccacia looks gorgeous, it gives me lots of ideas!!!
    I enjoy your post, your pictures are beautiful!!! Well done!!

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  6. Cathleen, your beautiful pictures always speak thousands of words. Lovely pictures and post. Thanks for all the creative topping ideas!

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  7. Wow - your bread looks great. Really, really great.
    Sometimes words just don't come out the way you want them to, but your pictures told the story!

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  8. What beautiful photos! And Himalayan pink salt, wow!

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  9. Cathleen, now there is a wonderful idea - I love the fact that you made one large Focaccia and got so very creative with the different toppings. It all looks so delicious and your photos really show the different elements like the pretty pink salt crystals. I think my favorite would be the artichoke hearts, love those. Very nice post with a wonderful presentation!
    Have a great Wednesday!

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  10. Cathleen, You have done such a beautiful job in the presentation of this post. Especially love your many creative toppings. Jalapenos (a favorite in New Mexico) and artichoke hearts sound absolutely delicious. Like you, we served our leftover focaccia the next day with scrambled eggs.

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  11. Fantastic! I loved all your pictures....everything looks wonderful. I think your pictures spoke volumes!!! Great job. It looks so good with all the different topping selections. Might just have to steal that idea!!

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  12. Wow, you've just convinced me to try again with this one. Yours looks fantastic.

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  13. Your toppings (and focaccia) are wonderful! And I want a plate of your scrambled eggs, too!

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  14. I love how you divided up the toppings into sections. Your focaccias look great!

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  15. Wow, your photos are mouth watering! I love the dimples in your focaccia and the toppings you used sound delicious.

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  16. Beautiful photos. Your focaccia is a beautiful golden color. The artichoke heart topping looks and sounds delicious. And I love the idea of using the leftover toppings as scrambled egg seasoning.

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  17. Your photos have inspired me to try this again as one large pie. And your salt reminds me of an entire salt course I once had at Per Se in New York. Completely over the top, but it was fun to see if I could discern the difference among the salts. Seems like there's an endless variety out there!

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  18. Yum, delicious and what a fun idea to do it all in one pan with lots of different things. It looks SO good in that first photo.

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  19. Amazing looking bread - it looks so festive in the big pan with the different toppings! I will borrow yours and your sisters idea for future reference when trying to satisfy different tastes.

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