Soft and yeasty and dimpled with slices of fresh peach and a sprinkle of fresh thyme, this homemade focaccia bread will transport you straight to Italy.
Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 25 minutesminutes
Inactive Time: 2 hourshours
Total Time: 3 hourshours
Ingredients
1tablespoonactive dry yeast
¾cup/ 180glukewarm water, at 90-100 °F
1 ½cups/ 200gbread or 00 flour
½cup/ 80gfine semolina flour, or substitute 70g more 00 flour instead
¼cup/ 54golive oil, plus more as needed for preparation
2teaspoons/ 14ghoney
1teaspoonkosher salt
1largepeach, pitted and thinly sliced
chopped fresh thyme, for topping
flake sea salt, for finishing
Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk yeast into lukewarm water until dissolved and frothy (if your yeast doesn’t fully dissolve or get frothy, that means it is dead; throw it out and get fresh yeast).
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine flours, olive oil, and honey. Add yeast and mix with the paddle attachment until just incorporated; add salt, then switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for 5 minutes or until smooth and still slightly tacky. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice, forming dough into a smooth ball.
Pour a glug or two of olive oil into the mixing bowl and roll dough ball in the oil until coated. Cover lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes until noticeably puffed.
Generously oil a non-stick quarter sheet pan. Turn out dough onto pan and press out into a rectangle. Fold in half lengthwise, then fold in half crosswise, then fold in half once more to form a rectangle. Turn 90º so long side of rectangle is parallel to the long side of the sheet pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 °F.
Remove plastic wrap, then press out dough once again to fill the entire sheet pan at an even thickness. Poke your fingers down into the dough to form indentations, pressing out your fingers and moving your hands to tear up the dough a little bit (no need to be gentle with this, you want the craggy texture and it’s ok if you tear holes clear thorough the dough). Drizzle generously with a few tablespoons of olive oil, spreading the oil out with your hands to fairly evenly coat the surface of the dough.
Arrange peach slices over top of dough, then sprinkle with thyme and a generous pinch or two of flaky sea salt. Loosely cover and let rest for about 30 minutes until slightly puffed and oven is thoroughly preheated.
Bake focaccia for 20 to 25 minutes or until top is light golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before lifting from pan and slicing into pieces; serve warm.
Notes
If using all-purpose or bread flour, use a total of 270g (a little over a cup) in place of the 00 and semolina flours. The weight isn't quite equivalent, since the semolina flour is much heavier for the same volume. Note that AP flour will produce a slightly denser and chewier final product.