Apple, Caramelized Onion and Brie Focaccia

My daughter is home for the winter break. I took the last week and a half off from work and made plans to bake a lot of classic recipes from my bookmarked list. Things didn't go the way I had planned. First my daughter wanted to bake/cook some tried and tested dishes she had been craving. Then I pulled a muscle in my back and had to take it easy. At the end of the day I am glad I got to spend time with her and plan to make the most of the next few days before she heads back to school.

I baked this Focaccia as the last baked recipe of the year. The idea for this recipe started with some Brie I had left over from a party. I wanted to use it up and started brainstorming ideas. A few years back I made sandwiches with the classic combination of apple, caramelized onions and Brie. We loved the flavors. We always have apples in the fruit basket so this seemed the perfect way to use the cheese. But then I thought I should try something different. A few years back I had made these mini Brie en Croute. I figured I could add the apple and onions in place of the fruit preserve. I had some dough made with my sourdough starter intended for dinner rolls or pav for Vada pav that my daughter was craving. I was planning to use some of the dough for this recipe. The percentages of ingredients in that would were better suited for a Focaccia than the Brie en croute and so in the end I went with this Focaccia. Everyone enjoyed the flavors of apple, caramelized onion and Brie with the sourdough base.

You will need
Dough for the base
200 gm Whole wheat/All purpose flour combination
70% water
40% sourdough starter
10 gm salt

For the topping
1/4 large onion preferably white/yellow
Half an apple sliced thin
some slices gouda cheese (I ran out but would have like to add some)
an inch wide wedge of Brie

Herb oil
1 tbsp. oil (I used olive)
dried herbs of your choice (I used basil and oregano)

Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a bowl, cover and let it rest. After 15 minutes fold the dough over itself in the bowl. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Repeat the stretch and fold 8 times. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Repeat the process 3 more times. Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours.

When you are ready to bake prepare the herb oil by whisking all the ingredients in a bowl. Keep aside until needed. Next caramelize the onions. Slice the onion into thin slices. Cook the onion on low heat until it sweats and starts turning color. When it is a deep brown, turn off the heat and let it cool. It should be sweet.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it into an oval shape. Cover and let it rest on the counter top for 15-20 minutes. Uncover and brush with the oil. Using your fingertips make dimples all over the dough. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes.

Prep the rest of the ingredients. Remove the partially baked bread from the oven and add the Brie, gouda if using and the apple slices. Return the bread to the oven for about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the onions over the top and bake for 5 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Herbed Feta Focaccia

Focaccia made a great afternoon snack. My daughter loved it. So here is my version with herbed oil and feta cheese.

I had planned on taking pictures of the crumb but she thought it would be cool to tear instead of cut the bread. I let her have her way. It was only after it was all gone that I realized I have just one picture of this recipe. If you need help with detailed instructions you can refer to an earlier version of focaccia I have on this space.

You will need
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. instant yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup warm water

For topping
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. organo
1/4 tsp. thyme
2 tbsp. feta cheese

Combine the topping except the cheese and allow the oil to soak up the flavor of the herbs.

Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a mixing bowl and form a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes, cover and keep aside. Allow it to double in volume, about 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Divide the dough in two portions. I used half the recipe so I had just one portion. Roll out the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness. Using your fingertips dimple the rolled out dough. Brush the herbed oil and leave the dough aside for 15-20 minutes. Brush again with the remaining oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes. The top should be a light brown color. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the feta cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cheese, Thyme, Basil and Onion Fourgasse

Fourgasse is French flat bread shaped lie a leaf with cuts made to resemble the veins of a leaf. It is perfect for tea time though it would work as a side with soup. I worked the thyme, basil and onion into the dough while I added the cheese on the top.

I have always loved the shape of this leaf shaped bread. My family loves the combination of herbs and onion in the dough. It makes a filling after school snack. My daughter loves the aroma of the herbs when it is cooked. In fact she loves the aroma even before I put the bread in the oven.

I used onions with fresh thyme and dried basil. You can use rosemary or sage or any other herb of your choice. I also sprinkled some cayenne pepper for some heat.

You will need
For the dough
125 gm whole wheat flour
150 all purpose flour
4 gm instant dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil

For the filling and topping
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 medium onion
3-4 twigs thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper powder

1 tbsp. milk for brushing

Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a mixing bowl and form a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes until it is soft and elastic. Cover and keep aside until doubled in volume, about an hour and a half.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a pan and saute the onions. Remove the thyme leaves from the stick and add them to the onions with a little salt. Saute the onions until they are tender. Turn off the heat and keep aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Transfer the dough to a floured working surface. Flatten a little with your palms and add the onion, basil and cayenne pepper. Fold the dough over and flatten it gently with your palms. Repeat until the onion and herbs and mixed in. Using a rolling pin gently roll to form a rough rectangle.

Using a sharp blade or knife cut the dough to form the veins of a leaf.

Press down pieces of cheese into the dough. Brush the top with a little milk.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the dough is cooked through.

Enjoy!

Sourdough Focaccia with Parmesan Cheese and Basil

Ever since I heard about and researched sourdough starter I wanted to bake bread using my own starter. For the last month and a half I have been baking bread using my starter. I baked soda bread, baguettes, hot cross buns and artisan loaf. Now I wanted to try pizza using my starter. The plan was to have pizza for dinner. But then I remembered I had baked focaccia caprese using commercial yeast a few months back and my family loved it. So I decided to make enough dough for four small pizzas and one focaccia.

My weekly baking cycle begins on Friday morning when I remove the starter from refrigerator and feed it. On Saturday morning I discard most of the starter and feed the remaining. I make sourdough pancakes for breakfast out of the discarded starter. On Saturday evening I mix the dough. For more on the process of maintaining your starter look here. Now that I use my starter I have become very conscious of the bread crumb and flavor. High hydration and long fermentation weaken the gluten strands giving bread the desired open crumb (lots of holes) and great flavor.

I used whole white wheat and all purpose for this recipe. My ultimate goal is to eliminate the all purpose flour in the dough and substitute it with other flours. I put the mixed dough in a covered mixing bowl on my kitchen counter to allow the starter to do its magic. After 7 hours I divided the dough into 5 portions, covered them and placed them in the refrigerator to proof. This was done at night so the light is not great in the picture.

The next day morning I took the portion I needed for the focaccia out of the refrigerator. I allowed it to continue to proof at room temperature for a couple hours.

I transferred the dough to a floured work surface and patted it into shape. I placed it on an oiled baking sheet and dug holes on the surface.

I then sprinkled fresh grated Parmesan cheese and some dried basil over the top.

I baked it for about 15-20 minutes in a hot oven set at 500 F.

The taste was amazing and I was really happy with the open crumb.

For the exact list of ingredients refer to the book Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish.

Focaccia Caprese

I had not baked anything worth mentioning for years. I have fondly looked at my cake decorating supplies from time to time but have not used those for several years either. On a whim I decided to try this Foccaccia Caprese.

I planned to make this bread on Saturday, the 11th of January, well before the reveal date of 24th. With the temperatures expected to rise to the upper 50s and lower 60s on the 11th it would be a perfect day for baking. However, as luck would have it, I overslept on the 7th, the first day of school after winter break. My teenager woke me up 15 minutes before leaving for school to ask what she should pack for lunch. Oh! the guilt! I decided to go out in the freezing cold (25 F) and get the ingredients. I baked the bread and delivered it to school in time for lunch. It turned out great! And I thoroughly enjoyed baking it.

You will need
For the dough
2 tsp. Fleischmann rapid rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup warm water

For the Topping
4 large tomatoes (red or yellow), sliced thin
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4" thick
8 leaves fresh basil, rolled up and sliced into thin strips

For the herb oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 pod garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt to taste

olive oil to brush the loaves

In a bowl whisk all the ingredients for the herb oil. Keep aside until needed.

In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients for the dough except the water. Mix well. Add the water a little at a time and knead into a soft and elastic dough. I prefer not to use the electric mixer because I have recently found kneading to be very calming. The rough and tumble dough is tamed under your fingers as you keep working it and is replaced by a glossy, soft dough. Roll this soft dough into a ball. Moisten your palm with olive oil and rub all over the dough. Leave it in the mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap for an hour.

While the dough rests, prepare the baking sheet. I used a regular baking sheet and this recipe yielded two good sized Focaccia. Sprinkle olive oil on the baking sheet and spread it around. After resting for an hour the dough should have grown to twice its size.

Divide it into two and shape the loaves. Working with your hands flatten one of the two loaves on one side of the baking sheet. Flatten it to your desired thickness. Repeat with the other loaf.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Let the loaves rest for about 20 minutes in the baking sheet. They will rise a little. Moisten you fingertips with olive oil and punch holes all over the loaves. Using a pastry brush spread the prepared herb oil liberally over the top of the loaves.

Bake uncovered in the oven for 18 minutes or until just brown. While the loaves are baking prepare the toppings.

Roll the basil leaves and slice thin resulting in thin strips. Leave a few leaves to garnish. Slice the fresh mozzarella in 1/4" think slices. Slice the tomatoes thin.

Remove the loaves from the oven. At this point the bread smelled and looked so good I had to resist trying it.

Sprinkle more herb oil. Crank the oven up to 450 F. Arrange the mozzarella slices on the bottom followed by tomato slices and basil strips. Sprinkle more herb oil on the top and return to the oven for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the loaves rest for a few minutes. Serve hot.

Note: If you are unable to finish it all in one meal you can have leftovers. Leftover Focaccia can easily be freshened up. Preheat the oven to 375 F and place the Focaccia directly on the middle rack. Let it heat through for 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and serve hot. Even though it does not taste as good as the first time it is taken out of the oven, it comes close.