Monday, March 5, 2012

Hi everyone!  It's been quite awhile since my last entry. Although I still remain undecided regarding the future of  the blog, I could no longer ignore all the wonderful individuals who continue to visit Anna's Table and take the time to leave comments. Upon viewing the site, I was 'gobsmacked' by the continued interest in the no-knead bread recipe. In fact during my absence many of your questions regarding the recipe where answered by fellow readers. Maybe it was this sense of community spirit which drew me back to the fold. 

I thought it would be appropriate to share once more, an earlier post in which I used the no-knead bread recipe.  The only minor change to Jim Lahey's (Sullivan Bakery in New York) original recipe is the addition of three tablespoons of olive oil.

 

No-Knead Tomato Focaccia

Before I get started on the focaccia recipe post, I would like to send out a special thank you to my blogging friend, Susie Ridler from Susie the Foodie blog, who introduced me to the whole "tagging" concept. Unable to post her own tutorial in time, Susie kindly redirected her loyal readers to my post. Known for her openness and her supportive assistance, Susie's generous gesture resulted in an influx of new traffic to my  no-knead bread post. As promised, Susie did  post her full recipe tutorial today. I do hope you get a chance to visit her wonderful blog at http://suziethefoodie.blogspot.com/
Realizing I had small cherry tomatoes nearing their end but still edible, my plain rosemary and garlic no-knead focaccia was about to get a make-over. The topping is as easy as making a salad, and just as refreshing. 
Using the same no-knead bread recipe, and by just adding 3 tablespoons of light virgin olive oil to the basic recipe will give you a tasty and airy dough.
 
Ingredients:

Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons light virgin oil

Tomato topping:
 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half  and juice squeezed out
1 garlic clove finely minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin oil
2 tablespoons grated parmigiano reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 -3/4 cup smoked mozzarella,diced
salt
pepper


METHOD 

DOUGH:
The night before:
In a mixing bowl add the flour, the yeast and the salt. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, blend the dry ingredients.



Pour in 1 1/2 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of light virgin oil, and mix. Pull together the dough using your hands or a wooden spoon. 




Scrape any excess flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well incorporated and form into a ball.  The dough will have a stringy texture.



Place a piece of plastic wrap on the bowl to avoid the dough from drying out. Allow to rise in a warm dry, and draft free place for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. The photo to the right is dough that has risen overnight.

The next day: 
Transfer the dough to a greased and floured 12 " pizza tray. Dust the dough  lightly with flour, and with your hands spread out to the edges of your pizza pan, forming a disk. Drizzle with oil and season with salt.  Sprinkle fresh or dried rosemary on the top.  Place in a draft free place to allow to rise a second time for 1-2 hours
.

Topping:
While the dough is rising, prepare the topping by adding the prepared tomatoes in a bowl and tossing in the olive oil, parmigiano reggiano, the smoked  mozzarella, the minced garlic, oregano and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Once the dough has risen a second time spread  the tomato cheese topping gently on the focaccia dough.








Bake in a pre-heated 500º F oven for 15-20 minutes.

10 comments:

  1. bentornata Anna, splendida la tua focaccia, molto appetitosa! un abbraccio...

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  2. Grazie mille Chiara! It's so nice to see a familiar face,my friend. Take care and as you always say "hugs".

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  3. So glad that you're back to blogging!

    This focaccia is happening at our place sooner rather than later.

    How great to read about Julia's new adventure with food + blogging. Perhaps a mother/daughter cooking show is in the future?

    Rob on 8

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  4. Rob, thanks for your support but I'm not sure which direction the blog will take. Maybe a mother/daughter show should be the next step...ha!ha!
    Please let me know how the focaccia turns out.

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  5. This focaccia looks mouthwatering - with a side of soup, I could easily eat an entire one :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru
    Latest: Strawberry Hot Fudge Choc Cobbler

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  6. You were thinking whether to blog or not? Well, good you're now.
    If it's no knead then mebbe I should try my bread baking adventure here. Been putting it off because I'm scared!!

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  7. Choc Chip Uru, thanks for the visit and taking the time to comment. This is my favourite recipe for focaccia and fool proof. Hope you give it a try.

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  8. Hi Thoma, I'm taking it (blogging) one day at a time. We'll see if my gradual return will eventually get back to full swing. Thanks for your support.
    Hope you do try the recipe. It's super easy but requires loads of time for the dough to rise, which in turn gives it its glorious flavour. Hope you let me know once you give the recipe a try.

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