Hope everyone’s doing great!
So many of my Instagram friends asked me for this recipe which I posted on my story about 3 weeks ago. I work as an IT Consultant in Columbus, Ohio and my coworkers and I started a tradition just last year which is a “Baking Swap”, basically and conceptually a “cookie swap” but using any baked good. This is the recipe I did for them this year and it is inspired by one of my favorite pastry shops in town which sadly closed three years ago (everyone raise your wands for Laughlin’s Bakery).
Today’s recipe is a focaccia made by hand; no special equipment needed. I wanted to make sure you don’t need a stand mixer because I now not all of you have one. Laughlin’s bakery recipe had potatoes so I’m using them in addition to CHORIZO because #Mexican.
You can 100% make just the base recipe alone and you’ll LOVE it, feel free to change up your toppings but believe me when I say you want to try this one letter by letter. Yes, I am that confident lol.
This is my take on a Potatoes and Chorizo Focaccia.
Ingredients
For the bread
2 ½ teaspoons of active dry yeast.
6 cups of bread flour.
3 cups of warm water.
1 tsp of agave syrup or granulated sugar.
½ cup extra virgin olive oil.
6 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. This ingredient is here for flavor purposes.
2 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt.
Toppings
4 tablespoons of olive oil.
1 sprig of rosemary finely chopped.
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped.
10-15 parboiled chambray potatoes cut in half or 2-3 Yukon variety cut in 1/3 inch slices.
2 cups of cooked pork chorizo, Mexican preferably.
Finishing salt, kosher or flaky.
Procedure
Proof yeast
Take ½ cup warm water and add the sugar and yeast. Mix well and set it aside in a warm spot of your kitchen for about 10 minutes or until you see a foamy top. A foamy top means your yeast is alive and ready to be used, if it doesn’t foam or you don’t see any bubbles, that means that it’s time for you to get some new yeast from the market!
Make dough
Note: If your oven has a proofing setting, please turn it on now, if it doesn’t, look for a warm spot in your kitchen and clear it because you will need to use it today.
Use a large enough bowl to mix your flour, leftover warm water, proofed yeast, and nutritional yeast. Mix by hand until you get a dough-like consistency, it’s okay if you still see flour here and there.
Sprinkle the salt all over the new formed dough and keep mixing by hand. You want to grab dough from the bottom of the bowl, lift it and put it on top repeatedly but about 10 minutes or until you see a homogenous dough with no lumps or dry spots that doesn’t still to the walls of your bowl. Note: ENJOY this process and do not worry, your bread will come up beautifully.
It’s time to do a long fermentation now, which is the process where you will strengthen the gluten in your dough and promote growth! Doesn’t it sound so wholesome? Beautiful.
Use a bigger bowl than the one you used to mix your dough, consider it will double in size when you choose the new one. Add ¼ cup of olive oil to the bottom of the bowl and then dump in your dough. Wet your fingers with the olive oil ring you will see all around your dough and apply some oil to the surface of your dough, this will prevent dryness. Cover your bowl with a damp towel and transfer it to either your oven in a proofing setting or to the warmest spot of your kitchen.
You will proof your dough for 45-50 minutes, then you will remove the towel and using wet hands (with water or oil) you will fold the dough twice. The idea is that you use both your hands and grab the dough from the middle and lift it, stretching it the more you can and then folding it on itself in the bowl again. Cover the dough with the damp towel again and proof for another 45-50 minutes. You will repeat this process a total of 3 times.
While your dough is proofing you will prepare your toppings. Mix the olive oil, rosemary, and garlic together and set aside. Your chorizo must be cooked already and set aside. You should have two containers ready to go, one with the rosemary garlic mixture and the other one with the chorizo.
Forming the focaccia
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Use a 18x13 inch baking sheet. Size matters in this step, use a 18X13 sheet. Add the rest of your olive oil to cover the area of the baking sheet including the sides, it may seem like a lot but it’s not.
Dump your dough into the baking sheet and use your hands to spread it around. You will probably be able to cover all the area and that is okay, if this happens cover the baking sheet with your damp towel and let it rest for 10 minutes, this way the gluten will relax and then you will be able to stretch it again to have a uniform layer of dough covering all your baking sheet.
Let your focaccia rest for another 20 minutes or until you notice the dough raises to the height of your baking sheet.
Now, wet your hands with either water or olive oil, bend your fingers to form a claw and press them all over your focaccia. You need to press your fingers all the way until they touch the baking sheet.
Add toppings
Spread the garlic-rosemary-oil mixture all over the focaccia, then add the chorizo and lastly, the cooked potato slices.
Bake the focaccia
Bake in a 425-degree oven for about 25 minutes or until you see golden brown edges.
Take the focaccia out of the oven and sprinkle some flaky salt.
I know these steps since like a lot because IT IS A LOT! However, the recipe is simple, easy to follow and easy to master. I promise your family and friends will love it. At least my coworkers and husband say it tastes delicious.
I hope you make this recipe your own and a stable at home!
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