The Infamous Rosemary Focaccia
Mar 18, 2006 | From the kitchen of Rose
seems to me i've received more correspondence about this bread recipe than any other. some adore it and most find it impossible to make. simple as it is, as the highest water content (hydration) bread in the book it has turned out to be the trickiest. so i'm delighted that my friend jan in san diego recently wrote me how much she loves this bread--which she makes often--along with a photo of what the dough (batter) looks like after mixing!
see how it looks like melted mozarella cheese? nothing like a picture. and be sure to dimple it deeply all over right before baking to get the large irregular holes.
Print
Post/Read Comments (21)
Digg
de.licio.us
Facebook
StumbleUpon
rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from Janina
03/03/2010 04:28 PM
just raise it up to a higher rack toward the end of baking.
more yeast so it rises faster but you can use the lower amount and it simply takes more time.
REPLY
Janina
03/03/2010 09:03 AM
Hi,
I made this focaccia yesterday. I had no problem making the dough but my end product was no where near as brown on top as the one pictured in the book. How do you achieve such a beautiful brown crust? I thought maybe I should have baked it closer to the middle of the oven- I baked it on a pizza stone I place on the bottom of my oven.
I also didn't double the yeast because I just found out that I should later. Why do you need to double it?
Thanks,
Janina
REPLY
rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from Lucia
02/28/2010 08:31 PM
a dough hook will not beat it sufficiently unless maybe you do it for a really long time.
also the type of flour is significant and whether or not your are weighing or measuring.
if it doesn't turn to 'mozarella' after 30 minutes i would add more flour by the tablespoon.
REPLY
Lucia
02/28/2010 07:09 PM
Is there any point in waiting longer than 20 minutes? I am on my second try and still looking at soup! I made this years ago with no trouble (and great success) and I'm not sure what is going wrong now!
REPLY
Bob
09/02/2009 03:32 PM
Hi Rose,
I tried the focaccia recipe today and had the same result mentioned earlier: pancake batter. I measured carefully, then double checked with weight and volume. Could the speed of my mixer (a Braun with dough hook) be the problem? Also, it has been very damp where I live, so maybe the flower could hold enough water. I tried adding more a tablespoon at a time, but that's a slippry slope. Thanks for any advice.
Bob
REPLY
June
04/22/2009 03:03 PM
Rose, this is still my favorite recipe in the whole Bread Bible. Yes, it can be a cantankerous dough, but when it works it is heaven. For all the doubters tell them to just keep trying. It really does work, I promise!
You inspire me, Rose. I use your danish pastry recipe over and over- never a failure!
REPLY
Rose Levy Beranbaum
04/22/2009 02:42 PM
thank you dear charlie. i was thinking about you as i mixed the no knead bread. that has a much lower hydration and about 90% of the gluten development is done just by the rising but the focaccia is a completely different texture and type of bread and has so much more water. in fact, it is unlike any bread i've ever seen before.
REPLY
Charlie
04/22/2009 02:28 PM
There are no words of thanks that I have for everything Ive leaned form you and your books... CANT WAIT for Heavenly Cakes!
REPLY
Rose Levy Beranbaum
04/22/2009 12:59 PM
the only way to develop the gluten in a bread of this extraordinarily high water content is by beating this long. there is so much water there is no need to let it sit for 20 minutes to absorb as there's almost more water than the flour CAN absorb. bottom line: it works. if you want to let it sit 20 minutes and see if you perceive a difference it will not do any harm though i can't see it doing any good either!
REPLY
Charlie
04/22/2009 12:08 PM
I hope Im not being a "nudge". But would you help me understand why... it seems that the 20 min of kneading would cause a lot of oxidation... wouldnt a rest help prevent that..
On the otherh and Im thinking that perhaps this bread is served while still warm (DELICIOUSLY AMAZING I MIGHT ADD) and the loss of wheat flavor would be covered by the warmth any way..
Please explain.. curiosity of trying to make sence of the process of them whenn and whys is driving me batty..
REPLY
Rose Levy Beranbaum
04/21/2009 05:03 PM
no need for autolyse when this high a hydration--trust me!
REPLY
Charlie
04/21/2009 04:57 PM
I was wondering why you wouldnt use the autolyse ethod when making this bread.. please help me understand bread baking better...
REPLY
Joel
09/14/2008 11:53 PM
Hi!
Rose, I would like to report that the rosemary focaccia is going as per your wonderful instructions.
I have, this morning, already attempted the dough 2 times. The first time, the puddle refused to ball up around the paddle and I almost gave up until I remembered what you always say about things going wrong- I've either changed something or something is wrong with the ingredients. True to form, I bought new flour and yeast to replace my of-questionable-age ingredients, and voila, melted mozzarella- to the letter!
I hope this lifts your spirits in the midst of your hectic work on the new book!
REPLY
Rose Levy Beranbaum
06/01/2008 09:39 PM
the good news is you said there will be a next time!
marie wolf and i became friends over this bread and her initial failure with it. she told me when we met that she never thought i would write back.
now you MUST try the tom cat filone she turned me onto from maggie glazer's book. if you don't see it put filone or my new best bread friend in the search engine. this is not a challenging bread it is just plain fantastic!
REPLY
June
06/01/2008 09:28 PM
Ohhhh, Rose! It is better than I could have imagined- light as air, bubbly, tasty- totally worth all the effort. If anyone has any doubts or failed the first go-round, I would advise them to try again. I just wish I had a piece of cheese and a glass of wine to go with this. I tried to take a picture before I ripped into it, but the memory card on my daughter's camera is full- damn- and I don't know how to fix it. Next time, I promise.
REPLY
Rose Levy Beranbaum
06/01/2008 09:03 PM
i share your excitement and lucky you to have found the perfect proofing device! when i tasted it again chez marie wolf i remembered why it was worth all the trouble!
REPLY
June
06/01/2008 08:32 PM
OMG, Rose, this thing is gorgeous- the bubbling, rising dough, I mean. I have it in the half-sheet pan, merrily rising- I swear I can almost hear it singing. I was at a loss as to what to use to cover it for its final rise, and was rummaging through the garage and spotted the seldom-used Nesco roaster's lid- guess what- it fits perfectly over a half-sheet pan, with plenty of room to spare for the dough to rise. I am happy. I have olive oil with fresh garlic and herbes-de-provence waiting to slather on top of the dough beofre it is baked. Can't wait....
REPLY
Rose Levy Beranbaum
06/01/2008 05:27 PM
i was holding my breathe!!!
REPLY
June
06/01/2008 05:24 PM
I am glad to know that I am not alone! My first attempt with the rosemary focaccia this morning was a disaster...I don't know if I mis-measured the flour or what but the dough remained the consistency of pancake batter- literally. Okay, I thought, I will try to bake this anyway, but um, no. Not a good idea. So, undaunted, I tried again and VOILA! after less than 10 minutes I had the glistening melted-mozzarella consistency that I was looking for. Whew.....my faith in my baking skills (and in Rose's recipes!) is restored. The second batch is rising and I can't wait to taste it. Thanks, Rose!
REPLY
Rose Levy Beranbaum
03/04/2007 10:54 PM
brian--thanks for the terrific note. i'm delighted you're having such great success with the recipe.
it's almost midnight here on the east coast but i'm waiting for some brownies to come out of the oven so still up! (but not for long)planning the cranberry walnut bread for chicken sandwiches on the way to salt lake city next weekend for annual ski trip.
REPLY
Brian
03/04/2007 09:05 PM
Rose,
I received your Bread Bible for Christmas and started using it to make breads soon after. I never made bread in my life before, but I really enjoy it (although it is cutting into my learning cake baking which I started last summer after getting the Cake Bible!).
I have to complement you on how wonderful the Bread Bible is. So far I've made the Levy's Rye, the Olive bread, the Prosciutto ring, your variation of the no-knead bread, and tonight the rosemary focaccia. During the course of making these I've used the stand mixer method, the food processor method and the by-hand method. Your instuctructions are absolutely impeccable. Every bread I have made so far has been exactly as you describe it in the book - from the biga, to the kneading, proofing, shaping - everything - it has been absolutely wonderful. (I am also quite anal when it comes to using the exact ingredients and measuring everything - so much so that I drive my family crazy.)
I realize from the blog that there were some comments on finding the rosemary focaccia in the BB challenging, but it was exactly as you described. It took about 28 minutes for the dough to form a smooth shiny ball, but after the dough raised for 4 hours and again during the final proof, it was so light and bubbly, it was amazing. The only thing I may do differenly the next time is use a little less oil in the pan and on top. I used the heaping tablespoon in the BB recipe and I noticed that the recipe using Harvest King on the blog uses a little less, which I think would be just perfect.
Thank you again for making it so easy for novices to discover the wonders of baking.
Brian
REPLY
How can you be sure your oven is holding the right temperature?
Why do recipes for beaten egg whites warn you about dryness?