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 Posted By: Cook Chatty Cathy 
Feb 7  # 1 of 26
I once went to a restaurant that served the most wonderful foccacia bread I have ever tasted. I have yet to find a recipe that came near this bread. It was round, full of bubble holes and a dense bread almost like an English Muffin....but not. Can anyone help me out here?

Thank you, CCCathy
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 Posted By: Jafo232 
Feb 8  # 2 of 26
Recipes : Fabulous Focaccia : Food Network
Quote wrote:
2 teaspoons rapid-rising dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Cornmeal, for dusting

Toppings:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, proof the yeast by combining it with the warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve. Let stand 3 minutes until foam appears. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve salt in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold over itself a few times. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise over a gas pilot light on the stovetop or other warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil and corn meal. Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick. Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, coat a small saute pan with olive oil, add the onion, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes until the onions caramelize. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips. Brush the surface with more olive oil and then add caramelized onions, garlic, cheese, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Bake on the bottom rack for 20 to 25 minutes.

This is basically what I do. I modified this a little here removing the olives and bumping up the cooking time. I just don't like olives lol..
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 Posted By: KYHeirloomer 
Feb 8  # 3 of 26
You can't go wrong with any of Peter Reinhart's formulae.

Check out his focaccia recipe in "The Bread Baker's Apprentice."

Caution: Once you make a bread, any bread, using his delayed fermentation techniques you'll be hooked.
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 Posted By: Mama Mangia 
Feb 8  # 4 of 26
Quote Cook Chatty Cathy wrote:
I once went to a restaurant that served the most wonderful foccacia bread I have ever tasted. I have yet to find a recipe that came near this bread. It was round, full of bubble holes and a dense bread almost like an English Muffin....but not. Can anyone help me out here?

Thank you, CCCathy

In our family we always made foccacia completely by hand for the restaurants as well as for home.

Today things are a lot different. Flours are different, many come from a sack and all you need to add is water - or depending on the mix - possibly another ingredient or two. One sack of "dry mix" will make several different things. It's cheaper for the restaurants. Many times the dough is prepared (once again using a commercial mix) by a baker or bread company and it is flash frozen and sent to restaurants and pizzerias. You think you are getting a "homemade" dough when you aren't. A dear friend of mine sells tons of "doughs" that have been flash frozen to all parts of the states. And no one knows it comes from a bread bakery. These doughs even go into the large supermarket chains and as you watch the dough "proof" you think they made it themselves - they didn't - it came in frozen. But they fool you. You have to work in the industry to actually see what is done and all the tricks there are out there.

Don't be discouraged if you're recipe is not the exact texture, flavor, etc. as what you ate in a restaurant or got in a supermarket, pizzeria, deli, etc. If after trying the recipe posted you want to try others - just let me know.

Mama
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 Posted By: Jafo232 
Feb 8  # 5 of 26
There are about as many different recipes for Foccacia bread as there are for apple pie. I have seen many different incarnations in my time, from a flat slightly leavened type, to huge domes of bread.

I am actually making up some of the flatter kind tonight to go with our spaghetti dinner. It is basically the same as the one above, except I use active yeast instead of instant, and only let it rise once (the above rises once too, but with normal yeast, you would let it rise twice). The bread only rises a little, and after you let it cool for about 5 minutes, you can cut it into 1 1/2 wide strips and serve it like you would garlic bread. I made that type for the super bowl party to go with the chili and everyone simply raved about it.