No-Knead Rosemary Focaccia Bread from America’s Test Kitchen

This is my all-time favorite recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. This Italian bread is so delicious you will have to hide it from your brother who will eat an entire loaf before your guests arrive!

It is crunchy, salty, herby, and soft in the middle.  You can just eat it plain or it is really wonderful with goat cheese and bacon jam.  (recipe for another time). I make it up in advance and freeze in gallon bags and then I basically have a wonderful Take & Bake bread that I can pop in a hot oven on a baking stone or cookie sheet for about 6 to 8 minutes.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread from America’s Test Kitchen

From their “100 Hundred Recipes” The Absolute Best Ways to Make the True Essentials 
Makes Two 9-inch round loaves

Sponge

½ cup (2 ½ oz)  all-purpose flour
⅓ cup warm water (110 degrees)
¼ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

Dough

2 ½ cups (12 ½ oz) all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups warm water (110 degrees)
1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (Fresh, not dried is much better but you could use dry)

1.  For the sponge:  Combine flour, water, and yeast in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains about 1 minute.  Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (let stand to room temp for 30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe).  ***I always do this ahead of time because I’ve found the flavor of the bread is so much better after sitting out for 24 hours and 3 more days in the fridge!!! For the Dough:  Stir flour, water, and yeast into the sponge with a wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains about 1 minute.  Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature for 15 minutes.
2. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over dough; stir into dough until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute.  Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. Spray a rubber spatula or bowl scraper with vegetable oil spray.  Fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl and repeat turning and folding for a total of eight folds.  Cover with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, turning and rising 2 more times for a total of three 30-minute rises.
3. One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place a baking stone on the rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.  Gently transfer the dough to lightly floured counter or board. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and divide it in half.   Shape each piece of dough into a 5-inch round by gently tucking under edges. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans (I use dark non-stick ones) with 2 tablespoons oil each.  Sprinkle each pan with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. (Use all the oil it does some magic on the bread). Place round of dough in 1 pan, top side down; slide dough around pan to coat bottom and sides with oil, then flip the dough over.  Repeat with the second piece of dough. Cover pans with plastic and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Using your fingertips, press dough out toward edges of the pan, taking care not to tear it and creating indentations with your fingers.  (If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch it again). Using a dinner fork, poke the entire surface of the dough 25 to 30 times, popping any large bubbles,  Sprinkle with fresh rosemary evening over top of the dough. Let dough rest in pans until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Place pans on the baking stone and lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake until tops are golden brown, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.  Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and return to rack.  Optionally you can brush tops with any remaining oil in pans. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.  (Leftover bread can be wrapped in a double layer of plastic and stored at room temp for up to 2 days. Wrapped with additional aluminum foil you can freeze for up to 1 month.
   
   

Variation — This has turned out to be a favorite variation with my family and friends. 

Caramelized Onions For Foccacia Bread

• 1 large onion
• ½ Tsp Kosher salt (¼ if using regular salt)
• 1 TBS Brown sugar
• 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 TBS Melted butter or Olive Oil or oil of choice

Directions for Onions

Slice onion in ½ then cut from pole to pole (top to bottom) in thin slices.  Break apart to create ½ circle pieces and put into the pan with oil or butter.

Sprinkle with salt.

Cook on low / med-low heat stirring occasionally while caramelizing for about 20 minutes or so until onions are golden brown and soft – sprinkle with brown sugar and continue cooking until onions deepen in color – another 4 to 5 minutes.  Take off the heat and stir in Balsamic Vinegar.  

Cool onions before folding them into your Focaccia dough. 

I add the cooled onions on the second turn of the dough – I just sprinkle them on the dough and then just fold the dough per recipe directions.  The onions will poke out some but that is OK. You will have one more fold and then when prepping for pans you will be making a ball and you can tuck them all in – it’s ok if some pop out of the dough when you bake.   

I do find I need to leave the onion ones a little longer to rest than it calls for in the recipe because of handling the dough a little more.  I usually leave it for 20 to 30 minutes instead of 10 to 15. 

Bake per recipe.  If you underbake by about 5 minutes you can freeze them to use later like any other take-and-bake.  450 for about 8 to 10 minutes when they go in frozen.