The Easiest But The Best Focaccia

The Best But Easiest Focaccia

This is a four ingredient Focaccia requiring 5 minutes time.  It raises overnight.  It will be a crowd pleaser.  "Alexandria's Kitchen"

Four Tips for Success
Allowing the dough to rest 18 to 24 hours in the fridge yields the best results. (You can leave the dough in the fridge for as long as 72 hours.)

A buttered or parchment-lined pan in addition to the olive oil will prevent sticking. When I use Pyrex or other glass pans, butter plus oil is essential to prevent sticking. When I use my 9×13-inch pan, I can get away with using olive oil alone.

Count on 2 to 4 hours for the second rise. This will depend on the temperature of your kitchen and the time of year.

After the second rise, dimple the dough, then immediately stick the pans in the oven — this has been a critical difference for me in terms of keeping those desirable crevices. If you dimple and let the dough rise again even for 20 minutes before popping the pan in the oven, the crevices begin to dissolve.

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 cups water

Directions:

Mix the flour, salt and yeast together well, then add water. Mix the two well with a spatula.  Slick the dough with Olive Oil. Then cover the bowl preferably with a lid. or a cloth bowl cover. Stick the bowl in the fridge immediately; leave it there to rise for 12 to 18 hours (or for as long as three days)

NOTE: It is important the dough really be slicked with olive oil especially if you are using a cloth bowl cover or tea towel as opposed to plastic wrap or a lid. If you are using a tea towel, consider securing it with a rubber band to make a more airtight cover. If you do not slick the dough with enough oil, you risk the dough drying out and forming a crust over the top layer.

Deflate the dough and transfer to a prepared pan. I use a 9×13-inch pan. If you don’t have one you can use two 8- or 9-inch pie plates or something similar. If you are using glass baking dishes be sure to grease the dishes with butter before pouring a tablespoon of olive oil into each. (The butter will ensure the bread doesn’t stick.) Don’t touch the dough again for 2 to 4 hours depending on your environment.

After two to four hours, or when the dough looks like this…:

… it’s time to dimple it! You can simply use olive oil and salt — I recommend good, flaky sea salt for this. Note, the dough in the photo below spent three days in the fridge, and the dough was super bubbly!

if you are using rosemary, sprinkle it over the dough. Then pour two tablespoons of olive oil over the dough, and using your fingers, press straight down to create deep dimples. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt — again, something like Maldon is great here. 

Transfer to oven immediately and bake at 425ºF for 25 minutes or until golden all around. Remove focaccia from pans and place on cooling racks.

Four Tips for Success:

Allowing the dough to rest 18 to 24 hours in the fridge yields the best results. (You can leave the dough in the fridge for as long as 72 hours.)

A buttered or parchment-lined pan in addition to the olive oil will prevent sticking. When I use Pyrex or other glass pans, butter plus oil is essential to prevent sticking. When I use my 9×13-inch Pan, I can get away with using olive oil alone.

Count on 2 to 4 hours for the second rise. This will depend on the temperature of your kitchen and the time of year.

After the second rise, dimple the dough, then immediately stick the pans in the oven — this has been a critical difference for me in terms of keeping those desirable crevices. If you dimple and let the dough rise again even for 20 minutes before popping the pan in the oven, the crevices begin to dissolve.