This Organic Italian Bread is Suitable for a Dipping Sauce or As-Is
by Kelly R. Smith 
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Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread similar in style and texture to pizza; in some places, it is called “pizza bianca”. Focaccia can be served as a side dish or as homemade sandwich bread.
This recipe is rich with olive oil (which keeps it extra moist), topped with fragrant lemon zest, Parmesan cheese, and rosemary, and baked in a skillet to give it a perfectly golden, crispy crust.
You will be using an oven-safe skillet for this recipe. A cast iron skillet is best for achieving a super-crispy crust (and an effort-free way of getting a bit more iron into your diet)), but any oven-proof skillet will work.
Focaccia Ingredient List
Note: Use organic ingredients whenever possible.
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon pink or Himalayan salt
- 1/2 cup flaxseed meal
- 1 package Fleischmann’s RapidRise yeast (or comparable)
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
- 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (straight from my herb garden)
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest (I just picked one off my Improved Meyer Lemon tree in my garden)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- Chopped fresh basil to taste, if desired
Preparation Steps
- If you have a food processor, put the flour, salt, and yeast in it, fitted with the blade attachment, and pulse to combine. Add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Pulse until a rough ball of dough forms, about 15 (2-second) pulses. If you don’t have one, mix by hand in a mixing bowl.
- Drizzle 2 teaspoons oil in a large bowl. Flour your hands, scoop the dough out of the food processor, and form into a smooth ball. Put the ball of dough in the oiled bowl and turn it so it’s coated on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it sit at warm room temperature for 2 to 3 hours.
- Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the oil into your cast iron or other ovenproof skillet and rub it well over the bottom and sides. Punch down the dough and place the dough in the skillet. Coax and stretch the dough to cover the bottom of the skillet until it reaches all the way to the edges. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it rest at warm room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 450°F.
- Lightly dimple the surface of the dough with 2 knuckles. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over the dough so that it pools in some of the indentations and lightly coats the rest of the surface. Sprinkle with the rosemary, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese, basil if you opted for it, and a bit more salt if desired. Of course, if you have high blood pressure, don’t.
- Place your skillet in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 400°F. Bake until lightly golden-brown. Start checking at 20 to 25 minutes but it may take longer than that.
- Remove your skillet from the oven and cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Focaccia is best eaten when warm, but is also good at room temperature. If the crust gets too soft, reheat in a 350°F oven to crisp it up.
See, making no-knead skillet focaccia is a breeze, although it sounds very ooh-la la and exotic. The grocery store certainly prices it that way. But, throw off your consumer price shackles and make your own. Don’t be afraid to modify and experiment.
More Recipes and Cooking Tips
- Delicious Pizza Margherita Recipe
- Covid-19 Lock-down Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
- Turkey Italian Sausage and Peppers Recipe
- Basil: a Savory Addition to Your Herb Garden and Kitchen
- Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
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